The long term care health insurance by AmEx is meant to provide peace of mind for an aging population of baby boomers. Long term care insurance is meant for specific health needs and may be used for those recovering from accident or illness or for those entering hospice cares at the end of life.
Most often, AmEx health insurance is purchased to ease the burden on loved ones in the event home care or assisted living is necessary. Not all long term health insurance covers every potential need but consumers can choose the area of concern they have.
If home health care is covered, the insurance will pay for a day nurse or a live-in caregiver from the first day the service is needed.
Without long term care insurance the expenses of a funeral of daycare for an Alzheimer’s patient can quickly deplete a family’s budget. The protection provided by the policy may also cover a companion, housekeeper or therapist if the services are dictated by medical necessity.
Recommended: Funeral Insurance by Pinnacle Life
The Provider
Ameriprise is a division of Amex. Though there is an Ameriprise website, the service is most often found through a financial adviser and recommended as part of an overall plan for an individual’s financial stability.
The sales personnel are Ameriprise Advisors. You cannot just call or visit the website and buy a long term care policy.
Through an appointment, the representative for AmEx health insurance will look at your financial numbers, your potential retirement and provide options for long term care coverage.
History
Ameriprise is a rebranded version of American Express. A new division was created in an effort to avoid the consumer complaints and problems caused with the initial insurance offers that were directly from AMEX.
For those who are seeking a long term policy as part of their overall financial planning for the future, the Ameriprise solution may be a good choice. If the only goal is to buy a long term care policy, other options should also be considered.
The program for long term insurance also includes an option for a HealthPay Plus American Express card which can be used to help pay for health costs with pre-tax income.
This credit card falls under federal regulations for health savings accounts and must be used only for medical expenses and cost for long term care.
This is frequently offered by employers as part of the overall health care benefits of the company though the funding is provided by the employee.
Consumer Complaints
Consumer complaints have been vocal about this long term care insurance and most of the complaints are about rising costs of the insurance. The long term care insurance has been criticized for tactics known as “bait and switch” when premiums rose sharply six months after the policy was purchased.
It’s difficult to ascertain whether the problems are due to the policies of American Express or to rising health care costs across the board.
No consumer will be happy when insurance costs go up by 30% but many of the problems reported may be directly due to the huge increases in health care costs.
Other complaints have focused on the selling tactics of Ameriprise. Appointments for home visits are common and the follow-up by phone and by further home visits are designed to sign up a new customer.
The financial planning advice given has been questioned by some economists as the advice focuses on purchasing the right types of insurance products. This should not be surprising when you are discussing finances with someone who sells insurance policies.
Summary
The long term care health insurance is sold by Ameriprise. This may be offered by your employer or financial consultant as a viable way to provide a financial safety net for retirement years.
This may be a service that will stabilize your financial future but should be chosen only after carefully examining alternative plans and policies.
Sources: https://www.pinnaclelife.co.nz
