| A |
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) - An abbreviation for the phrase "Activities of Daily Living." In federally tax qualified policies the ADLs that can trigger the receipt of benefits are limited to eating, bathing, dressing, continence, transferring and toileting. In Tax-qualified policies you must require assistance with at least 2 of the 6 ADLs (or have a cognitive impairment) to be eligible to receive benefits.
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Adult Day Care - Provides social and other personal services including supervision and assistance with some ADLS in a community setting. "Day" care can be provided at anytime of the day but care is always less than 24 hours. Adult day care facilities are often used in combination with home and family caregivers in order to give the primary caregiver a break.
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Alternative Plan Of Care - On policies with an Alternative Plan of Care benefit, the carrier will pay for new or emerging services that are not specifically defined under the Long Term Care plan if they later become available and are a reasonable substitute under the individual's plan of care.
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Assisted Living Facility - Assisted Living Facilities (called Residential Care Facilities in California) provide personal care and assistance with ADLs in a residential setting for those that aren't able to live independently but do not require the level of round-the-clock care provided in a nursing home. Assisted Living Facilities have seen a tremendous growth in recent years while the number of skilled nursing facilities has remained flat.
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| B |
Benefit Triggers - Qualifying events to become eligible to receive benefits under your Long Term Care insurance policy. In a tax qualified policy this will be the requirement to need assistance for at least 90 days with 2 of the 6 activities of daily living or having a severe cognitive impairment.
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| C |
Compound Inflation - A rider where your benefits increase by a rate compounded every year. For example, if your Maximum Daily Benefit (MDB) was $100 and you had a 5% compound inflation rider, the Maximum Daily Benefit would increase by 5% per year. Therefore in year two it would by $105, but in year three $110.25, in year four $115.76 etc. The difference between a compound and simple inflation rider is not significant in earlier years, but becomes greater as time goes on. It is recommended that you talk to a Long Term Care specialist to determine which inflation rider would be best for your individual circumstances.
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| P |
Personal Care - Non-medical care and assistance needed to help a person perform activities of daily living and/or supervision and assistance for someone suffering from a severe cognitive impairment. Most health insurance plans do not cover custodial or personal care but are limited to acute or rehabilitative skilled-care. Long Term Care insurance plans were therefore designed to cover these services.
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| R |
Respite Care - Respite care refers to temporary or short-term care provided to the patient so that the primary informal care-giver can take a break or rest. Respite care can be provided at home or in a facility and allows the primary care-giver a temporary relief from care-giving.
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| S |
Step-Down - A policy feature which allows a policyholder to reduce coverage in exchange for a lower premium. For instance, a policyholder can reduce the Daily Benefit, or the total number of years the policy will pay or increase the elimination period. A policyholder has the right to step down policy benefits anytime after the first year and should always be considered before lapsing coverage.
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Long-Term Care Insurance 
