 Long-term care (LTC)
LTC is a variety of services
which help meet both the medical and non-medical need of people with a
chronic illness or disability who cannot care for themselves for
long periods of time.
It is common for long-term care to provide custodial and
non-skilled care, such as assisting with normal daily tasks like
dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom.
Long-term
care may also include medical care that most people do for
themselves, such as diabetes monitoring.
Long-term care
can be provided at home, in the community, in assisted living or in
nursing homes. Long-term care may be need by people of any age, even
though it is a common need for senior citizens.
The goal of long-term care services is to help you maximize your
independence and functioning at a time when you are unable to be fully
independent.
Generally, Medicare
doesn't pay for long-term care.
Medicare pays only for medically
necessary skilled nursing facility or home health care. However, certain
conditions must be met for Medicare to pay for even those types of care.
Medicare specifically will not pay for custodial and non-skilled care.
Medicaid is a government program that will pay for certain health
services and nursing home care for older people. In most states,
Medicaid also pays for some long-term care services at home and in the
community. Eligibility and covered services vary from state to state.
Most often, eligibility is based on income and personal resources. |
