What is Long-Term Care Insurance?
Long-term care is a variety of services and supports to meet health or personal
care needs over an extended period of time. Most long-term care is non-skilled
personal care assistance, such as help performing everyday Activities of Daily
Living (ADLs), which are:
- Bathing,
- Dressing,
- Using the toilet,
- Transferring (to or from bed or chair),
- Caring for incontinence, and
- Eating.
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.
Who Needs Long-Term Care?
Long-term care is needed when you have a chronic illness or disability that
causes you to need assistance with Activities of Daily Living.
Your illness or disability could include a problem with memory loss,
confusion, or disorientation. (This is called Cognitive Impairment and can
result from conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.)
This year, about 9 million Americans over the age of 65 will need long-term
care services. By 2020, that number will increase to 12 million. While most
people who need long-term care are age 65 or older, a person can need long-term
care services at any age. Forty (40) percent of people currently receiving
long-term care are adults 18 to 64 years old.
What Are My Risks of Needing Long-Term Care?
About 70 percent of individuals over age 65 will require at least some type
of long-term care services during their lifetime. Over 40 percent will need care
in a nursing home for some period of time. Factors that increase your risk of
needing long-term care are:
- Age - The risk generally increases as you get older.
- Marital Status - Single people are more likely to need care from a paid
provider.
- Gender - Women are at a higher risk than men, primarily because they tend to
live longer.
- Lifestyle - Poor diet and exercise habits can increase your risk.
- Health and Family History - also impact your risk.
How Much Care Might I Need?
It is difficult to predict how much or what type of care any one person might
need. On average, someone age 65 today will need some long-term care
services for three years. Service and support needs vary from one person
to the next and often change over time. Women need care for longer (on average
3.7 years) than do men (on average 2.2 years). While about one-third of
today's 65-year-olds may never need long-term care services, 20 percent of them
will need care for more than five years.
If you need long-term care, you may need one or more of the following:
- Care or assistance with activities of daily living in your home from an
unpaid caregiver who can be a family member or friend;
- Services at your home from a nurse, home health/home care aide, therapist,
or homemaker;
- Care in the community; and/or
- Care in any of a variety of long-term facilities.
Generally, services provided by caregivers who are family or friends are
unpaid. This is sometimes called informal care. Paid services are
sometimes referred to as formal services. Paid services often supplement
the services provided by family and friends.
How Do Care Needs Change Over Time?
Many people who need long-term care develop the need for care
gradually. They may begin needing care only a few times a week or one or
two times a day, for example, help with bathing or dressing. Care needs
often progress as you age or as your chronic illness or disability become more
debilitating, causing you to need care on a more continual basis, for example
help using the toilet or ongoing supervision because of a progressive condition
such as Alzheimer's disease.
Some people need long-term care
in a facility for a relatively short period of time while they are recovering
from a sudden illness or injury, and then may be able to be cared for at home.
Others may need long-term care services on an on-going basis, for example
someone who is disabled from a severe stroke. Some people may need to move to a
nursing home or other type of facility-based setting for more extensive care or
supervision if their needs can no longer be met at home.
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