Most people mistakenly view "long-term care" as synonymous with "nursing home care". The myth that a need for long-term care automatically means a nursing home confinement exists because at one time, nursing homes were the first, last, and ONLY option available for people who could no longer live at home. Now, nursing homes are just one of the many environments in an expanding continuum of long-term care.
A person needing long-term care normally progresses through a continuum of care and may entirely avoid a nursing home confinement. For example, older people experiencing the frailties of aging may be able to stay at home because they require only a minimal amount of assistance for a few hours each week. If their condition worsens and they experience problems with maintaining their balance, taking medications, or loss of memory, a move to an assisted living community is normally more appropriate than a move to a nursing home.
Unless the condition worsens, or a terminal illness develops, the need for more comprehensive care in a nursing home will probably never be required. This trend toward helping people avoid nursing home care and receive care in more comfortable settings is a bright spot in the generally somber subject of long-term care.
LTC insurance was initially created to pay for skilled nursing home care needed beyond Medicare's 20 days of coverage. But over the past several decades, legislation has been passed that requires coverage to pay for all levels of care, not just skilled care, irrespective of Medicare's benefits.
Two of the main reasons for purchasing LTC insurance are the ability to maintain current living arrangements and remain independent. Having LTC coverage could provide you with the financial resources needed to stay in your home longer or move to the more positive environment of an assisted living community.
LTC insurance may also allow you to have better access to high-quality providers who wish to maintain relationships with insurance companies. LTC insurance companies are beginning to locate and contract with providers who have demonstrated high quality work and ethics. A provider screened and recommended by an insurance company may provide better quality care than caregivers in the general population.
As our society ages, and the demand for care skyrockets, it will be those who can guarantee payment for care with private funds- either their personal assets or coverage from an LTC insurance policy - who will have access to high-quality providers.
A person needing long-term care normally progresses through a continuum of care and may entirely avoid a nursing home confinement. For example, older people experiencing the frailties of aging may be able to stay at home because they require only a minimal amount of assistance for a few hours each week. If their condition worsens and they experience problems with maintaining their balance, taking medications, or loss of memory, a move to an assisted living community is normally more appropriate than a move to a nursing home.
Unless the condition worsens, or a terminal illness develops, the need for more comprehensive care in a nursing home will probably never be required. This trend toward helping people avoid nursing home care and receive care in more comfortable settings is a bright spot in the generally somber subject of long-term care.
LTC insurance was initially created to pay for skilled nursing home care needed beyond Medicare's 20 days of coverage. But over the past several decades, legislation has been passed that requires coverage to pay for all levels of care, not just skilled care, irrespective of Medicare's benefits.
Two of the main reasons for purchasing LTC insurance are the ability to maintain current living arrangements and remain independent. Having LTC coverage could provide you with the financial resources needed to stay in your home longer or move to the more positive environment of an assisted living community.
LTC insurance may also allow you to have better access to high-quality providers who wish to maintain relationships with insurance companies. LTC insurance companies are beginning to locate and contract with providers who have demonstrated high quality work and ethics. A provider screened and recommended by an insurance company may provide better quality care than caregivers in the general population.
As our society ages, and the demand for care skyrockets, it will be those who can guarantee payment for care with private funds- either their personal assets or coverage from an LTC insurance policy - who will have access to high-quality providers.
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