By Marina Sanchez, NAVAIR Public Affairs

Imagine one of your parents unexpectedly becomes very sick and desperately needs some form of assisted living. Your parent does not have sufficient funds for such an expense therefore it is your responsibility to care for the person who has for so long taken care of you.

You want everything to be first class for your parent. You owe them that, but you can't afford it. You are guilt stricken and feel like you have failed as their child.

This is a difficult situation many people face. Watching a family member suffer is never easy; it is even harder without the appropriate funds to make the process as comfortable or effortless as possible.

In response to this need, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has contracted with John Hancock and MetLife to present a new Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) available to approximately 20 million Americans, including civil service and postal employees and retirees, their immediate family members (including children over 18) and active and retired military personnel.

Dave Ennis, the Quality of Work Life program manager at NAVAIR Patuxent River, believes that the odds of someone needing long-term care are very good. "In fact, statistically, it is expected that approximately 60% of people who reach age 65 will need long term care at some point in their lives," he said.

People are living longer and, according to Ennis, health insurance, like FEHB or TRICARE, is not designed to cover long-term care costs. "If you're depending on Medicare or Medicaid to meet your future long term care needs, you may be disappointed" he said.

"The price of nursing home care and assisted living are extravagant (one year of nursing home care can exceed $50,000)," Ennis said. "FLTCIP gives a person the ability to make choices about their future."

Long-term care offers three main plans, but can also be individualized to the specific needs of different clients. Monthly premiums are based on the client's age and plan and range from $8.40 to $675.60. While receiving benefits, enrollees do not pay premiums.

Program enrollees are eligible to receive benefits when they are unable to perform two of six established daily rituals, including getting dressed, going to the bathroom by themselves or preparing their own meals and eating by themselves.

With each plan, come two options - automatic compound inflation (ACI) or future purchase option (FPO). ACI presents a higher premium from the start, but also increased benefits over time while maintaining a constant premium. FPO is initially less expensive, but as greater benefits are desired, premiums will also rise, which could create financial difficulties.

Representatives of the program claim that both options eventually even out and cost the same; the choice is simply based on what premium pattern enrollees want to face. An option to change from ACI to FPO is presented every other year.

While there are many long term insurance options in the world today, there are advantages to this new federal program. The FLTCIP is a group plan, rather than an individual one allowing access to employees, their families and spouses.

Coverage can cost more in some cases, but the FLTCIP offers many benefits not covered by other companies, such as nursing home care and assisted living. As FLTCIP functions on a case-to-case basis, there is the possibility of coverage for private care centers, as well.

The program provides for eligible enrollees, even if they are living abroad. If an enrollee retires or quits while in the program, his coverage continues as long as he continues paying premiums. Because everyone eligible to apply is seen individually, spouses (and other eligible family members) can apply even if the actual employee, uniformed service member or annuitant/retiree they are related to does not apply.

In addition, 22 states allow tax deduction or tax credit for purchasing long term care insurance, including California, Maryland, and North Carolina.

This program is the largest benefit program since the Thrift Savings plan of the 1980's and is expected to be the largest employer-sponsored long-term care insurance program in the nation. Standard open season enrollment begins next week - July 1 - and runs through December 31, 2002. Now is a great time to start thinking about whether or not a plan like this would be good for you or your family.

Ennis and the OPM strongly advise anyone interested in the program to check out the Web site at http://www.ltcfeds.com. Among other things, the site provides Q&As and a calculator, which estimates assisted living costs in your area, or the area you plan on retiring in.