Long-Term Care
What is long-term care?
Long-term care is a classification of healthcare where a patient requires frequent medical attention over an extended period of time. In general, patients who have chronic conditions or disabilities and are unable to perform basic daily tasks by themselves, such as eating, getting dressed, or making the trip between different healthcare facilities, are most likely to require long-term care. Long-term care and services can be provided to patients of any age, but the risk of requiring long-term care increases with age.
Long-term care can be based in long-term care facilities, such as assisted living or skilled nursing facilities. It may also be provided in home-based settings, with services such as home health care and personal support services.
Long-term care is typically not covered by most health insurance plans, making long-term care very expensive for individuals and their families.
Why is long-term care important in healthcare?
For individuals with significant medical needs, long-term care is an essential part of healthcare that allows patients to live fulfilling lives, and often relieves family members of challenging care responsibilities.
From a financial perspective, long-term care insurance is an important facet of many long-term care treatment plans. Without long-term care insurance, considering the constant daily costs of long-term care, even patients with significant savings may find themselves financially burdened by medical costs. Long-term care insurance offsets some of these costs, allowing patients to get the important care they need from healthcare providers without having to pay the full medical costs out of pocket.