The Deductible (or Elimination Period) for Long Term Care insurance (LTCi) is your choice of the number of initial days of your care that are not paid for by your plan.

Your choices include: 20 days, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 180 days, and 365 days, in general, but some companies offer other variations.  The most popular deductible choice is 90 days, followed by the 20 day choice.  Larger deductibles are less expensive in premium than a smaller deductibles, but you will incur a larger out-of-pocket expense on your first claim.

NOTE:  Today's modern LTCi plans provide that your deductible days need to be satisfied only once in your lifetime!  This is much better than the earlier plans from years ago that required you to satisfy your deductible each time you needed care.

For example, let's say that you have an LTCi plan that pays for 4yrs of care, with a 90 day deductible.   If you need Nursing Home/convalescent care for 4 months followed by personal care in your own home that lasts for 3yrs, your plan would begin paying for your care on the 91st day and continue paying for 3yrs and one month. 

Let's continue with the same example.  If some years later you again needed care, perhaps personal assistance in your own home to recover from a surgical proceedure, you would have "first day coverage" since your deductible had already been satisfied previously.