Resources

Where to receive Care

Most long-term care is provided at home. Other kinds of long-term care services and supports are provided by community service organizations and inlong-term care facilities.

Examples of home care services include:

Community support services include:

Often these services supplement the care you receive at home or provide time off for your family caregivers.

Outside the home, a variety of facility-based programs offer more options:

What is Long-Term Care?

Long-term care is a range of services and supports you may need to meet your personal careneeds. Most long-term care is not medical care, but rather assistance with the basic personal tasks of everyday life, sometimes called Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), such as:

Other common long-term care services and supports are assistance with everyday tasks, sometimes called Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) including:

Who Needs Care?

70% of people turning age 65 can expect to use some form of long-term care during their lives. There are a number of factors that affect the possibility that you will need care:

Age

The older you are, the more likely you will need long-term care

Gender

Women outlive men by about five years on average, so they are more likely to live at home alone when they are older

Disability

Health Status

Living Arrangements

If you live alone, you’re more likely to need paid care than if you’re married, or single, and living with a partner

How Much Care Will You Need?

The duration and level of long-term care will vary from person to person and often change over time. Here are some statistics (all are “on average”) you should consider:

Who Pays for Long-Term Care?

The facts may surprise you.

Consumer surveys reveal common misunderstandings about which public programs pay for long-term care services. It is important to clearly understand what is and isn’t covered.

Medicare:

Does not pay for non-skilled assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADL), which make up the majority of long-term care services

You will have to pay for long-term care services that are not covered by a public or private insurance program

Medicaid:

Like public programs, private sources of payment have their own rules, eligibility requirements, copayments, and premiums for the services they cover.

Health Insurance:

There are an increasing number of private payment options including: