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Long-term care covers medical and non-medical services ranging from custodial help with activities of daily living
- such as bathing, eating, dressing, etc. - to occasional nursing care, to skilled nursing services provided to people who are physically or mentally unable to provide independent care for themselves.
Younger disabled persons also utilize long-term care services. Care may be needed while recovering from an accident or illness, during an extended period of disability, or simply as a
result of the normal aging process.
Home health care, adult day care, assisted living, respite care, and nursing home care all fall into the category of long-term care.
Perhaps the following story from Bill Schwieder of Virginia Beach, VA, will help explain what Long-Term Care really is:
As a long-term care insurance specialist, I spend a lot of time educating potential clients about many basic issues like "What Really Is Long-Term Care?"
Most
people read about ADL's (activities of daily living) but still can't relate to the definitions fostered on us by legislators, doctors and insurance companies.
One day, while
preparing for one of my workshops, I had a revelation about a simple explanation that everyone could relate to.
At the beginning of the workshop I introduced myself and spoke of my family's experiences. Then I asked the question, "Who else has had a personal experience with long-term care?" Only a few people raised their hand.
"That was a trick question!" I said. "Everyone here has had at least four years of long-term care!"
After a brief pause for effect I said,
"Everyone here was born; someone bathed you dressed you, fed you, changed your diapers, and carried you about.
We call those things the activities of daily living. Here's the guarantee: if you live long enough you will need someone to help you do them again."
Then I asked,
"Now, who understands that concept of long-term care?" Every hand rose up.
What are my chances of needing Long-Term Care?
Listed below are various quotes dealing with your chances of needing Long-Term Care:
You have about a one in 80 chance of ever using your homeowner’s insurance, and a one in 40 chance of
using your automobile insurance, but you have about a 60 percent chance that you’re going to be in a nursing home after age 65.
"LTC Insurance Is Still A Tough Sell Despite Many New
Features”, National Underwriter, May 10, 1999
60% of all Americans who reach age 65 may need long
-term care at some point in their remaining lives.
“The Looming Crisis,” American Health Care Association, 2000
About 44 percent of Americans 65 and older will enter a
nursing home at least once in their lifetime. More than half of them will stay for a least one year.
“Millions Needing Long-Term Care Are Not Properly Insured”, Business Wire, October 8, 2003.
(Source: Insurance Marketplace Standards Association.)
Four out of five couples will have a spouse requiring nursing home care.
Source: National Center for Health Services Research and Health Care Technology Assessment
The U.S. General Accounting Office estimates that 40 percent of the 13 million Americans receiving long
-term care services are between the ages of 18 and 64, during one’s prime working years.
“A GUIDE TO LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE”,
Health Insurance Association of America, (updated June 2002)
What are the odds of needing LTC at some point? Consider these facts: In 1995 there was an estimated 1.5
million U.S. residents in nursing homes. At current rates there will be about 3 million nursing home residents by 2030.
“Need For Long Term Care--and LTC Insurance--Rising Among Asian American”, National Underwriter Edition, May 12, 2003.
(Source: “The Changing Profile of Nursing Home Residents: 1985 to 1997”, The National Center For Health Statistics.)
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