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Does UnitedHealthcare Provide Coverage for Assisted Living?
Date Updated: July 26, 2024
Written by:
Jackie Smart is an author and freelance content writer. For the past five years, she has written on numerous subjects, especially senior living, drawing on her own experiences of researching assisted living for an elderly relative. Jackie has since written extensively on the subject, focusing on how older adults can find help accessing services and the resources and programs in place to help them finance their long-term care.
Reviewed by:
Kristi Bickmann, a licensed Long-Term Care Specialist, represents top-rated "Traditional" & "Hybrid" LTC companies. Serving associations such as the American Nurses Association, she's a licensed insurance agent in 27 states. Specializing in insurance products for seniors, Kristi helps hundreds of families every year protect assets, retirement, and loved ones. She understands aging concerns firsthand, having assisted her own parents. Kristi ensures accuracy on topics about senior long-term care and its consequences.
UnitedHealthcare doesn’t provide coverage for assisted living. The largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the United States covers more than 13 million seniors through its various policies. As the only provider to offer plans with the AARP name, customers may think their policy will pay for long-term care. However, with UnitedHealthcare’s policies not covering assisted living, retirees need to consider other ways to finance their future care, such as selling a home or taking out long-term care insurance.
What UnitedHealthcare plans cover
UnitedHealthcare offers seniors the choice of four types of health insurance plans.
Medicare Advantage
Also known as Medicare Part C, UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage plans combine the benefits of original Medicare Parts A and B, covering hospital stays, doctors’ visits, skilled nursing care, emergency transportation and other medical services. Policies also include coverage for additional services such as hearing, dental, vision, fitness programs and prescription drugs.
AARP Medicare Supplement
Prescription Drug plans (Medicare Part D)
Seniors with Medicare Parts A and B or Medigap can also take out a UnitedHealthcare’s prescription drug plan to help them pay for prescription medications.
Dual Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs)
UnitedHealthcare D-SNPs cover older adults with special financial or health care needs who have both Medicaid and Medicare. Seniors requiring skilled nursing care but who reside in an assisted living community may qualify for an Institutional-Equivalent Special Needs Plan (IE-SNP).
UnitedHealthcare plans and assisted living
Medicare plans cover necessary medical expenses, so they pay for certain assisted living services, especially if seniors meet the criteria for a UnitedHealthcare IE-SNP. However, these insurance policies don’t cover basic nonskilled services, including rent, meals and assistance with the activities of daily living.
With seniors facing average annual costs of $54,000 for assisted living, they need to consider alternative ways to pay, such as:
- Cash from selling a property and other assets
- Retirement benefits (IRAs, annuities and reverse mortgages)
- Medicaid and Medicaid waivers
- Veterans’ benefits
- Long-term care insurance (LTCI)