The PRIMARY consumer advantage of a California Partnership for Long-Term Care policy compared with an ordinary LTC policy is:

Explanation

The California Partnership for Long-Term Care, authorized by federal DRA 2005 and California Welfare & Institutions Code §22009, provides a 'dollar-for-dollar' Medi-Cal asset disregard: every dollar a Partnership LTC policy pays out preserves an equivalent dollar of assets that would otherwise have to be spent down for Medi-Cal eligibility. If a Partnership policy pays $200,000 in benefits, the insured can retain $200,000 of additional assets and still qualify for Medi-Cal LTC. The claim that Partnership benefits escape California income tax while ordinary LTC benefits are taxable is wrong — both partnership and ordinary tax-qualified LTC benefits are income-tax-free under IRC §7702B. The claim of exemption from any inflation-protection requirement is reversed — Partnership policies REQUIRE 5% compounded inflation protection for buyers under 70. And the guaranteed-issue claim is wrong — Partnership policies are still medically underwritten.