AboutEileen J. Tell Expertise I can help inform and educate people about long term care insurance and whether it is a product they should be considering. I can help them evaluate different policies or answer basic questions about long term care needs and costs. I have over 15 years experience developing and evaluating long term care insurance products and services and have worked with most of the leading companies in the field. I do not receive any commissions or fees from any companies, so my views are independent and neutral.
Question My grandmother will be in LTC for awhile. Someone was telling me we would not be charged for certain times the bed was not being used. What does this refer to ?
Answer I'm not sure if you are talking about your grandmother needing LTC in a facility like a nursing home or if you are asking how charges work if she has LTC insurance which is what I mostly deal in.
If she does not have insurance, then I think each nursing home's practice varies. Some of them will charge a "bed hold" fee if she leaves the nursing home say for a weekend visit to family or for a hospital stay. This fee may or may not be the same cost as she pays per day for the nursing home. The purpose of it is to make sure she has the same bed to come back to so they charge to "hold it" so no one else is placed there in your grandmother's absence.
I imagine that a facility that did not have a waiting list or that didn't have very high occupancy might waive the bed hold fee. Or if the temporary absence from the nursing home is short (e.g., a weekend), they also might not charge to hold the bed but might do so for a more extended stay (e.g., hospitalization).
I would call the nursing home administrator and ask them what their policy is on charging to "hold" a bed during the resident's temporary absence.
If she has LTC insurance, it typically includes a provision to pay for her "bed hold".
