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Skilled care is generally needed for medical conditions that require care by skilled medical personnel, such as registered nurses or professional therapists. This care is usually provided 24 hours a day, is ordered by a physician, and involves a treatment plan. Skilled care is generally provided in a nursing home, but may also be provided in other settings such as the patient's home with help from visiting nurses or therapists. Personal care (also known as custodial care) helps a person perform activities of daily living, which include assistance with bathing, eating, dressing, toileting, continence and transferring. It is less intensive or complicated than skilled care and can be provided in many settings, including nursing homes, adult day care centers or at home. Long-Term Care protection was originated to give the consumer the freedom to choose how he or she wished to protect their assets and to where care would be provided (i.e. home, assisted living community, nursing homes). In the future the government will most likely become less and less of a provider and the consumer will bear more and more financial responsibility in the extended-care process. Why Should You Purchase Long-Term Care Insurance? Long-term care can be expensive, depending upon the amount and type of care needed and the setting in which it is provided. Currently, the cost of a year in a nursing home can be about $38,000. The cost is only an average and varies widely across the country. The chart below lists average costs for each state. If you receive skilled nursing care in your home and are visited by a nurse three times a week for two hours per visit for the entire year, the bill could come to about $12,300. If you receive personal care in your home from a home health aide three times a week for a year, with each visit lasting two hours, the bill could amount to about $8,400. Not everyone can or should buy a long-term care insurance policy. For some, a long-term care policy is an affordable and attractive form of insurance. For others, the cost is too great, or the benefits they can afford are insufficient. You should not buy a long-term care policy if it will cause a financial hardship and make you forego other more pressing financial needs. The need for long-term care can arise gradually as a person needs more and more assistance with activities of daily living, such as bathing and dressing, or the need can surface suddenly following a major illness, such as a stroke or a heart attack. Some people who have acute illnesses may need nursing home or home health care for only short periods of time. Others may need these services for many months or years. The risk of needing nursing home care is greater for women than men. The risk of needing nursing home care also increases with age. The chances of needing home health care are substantially greater than needing nursing home care. Whether you should buy a policy will depend on your age, health status, overall retirement objectives and income. For instance, if your only source of income is a Social Security benefit or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you should probably not purchase long-term care insurance. Also, if you have trouble stretching your income to meet other financial obligations, such as paying for utilities, food or medicine, you should probably not purchase a long-term care insurance policy. On the other hand, people with significant assets may wish to buy a long-term care policy if they want to save these assets. If you have existing health problems that are likely to result in the need for long-term care (for example, Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease), you will probably not be able to buy a policy. More
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Persons with physical illnesses or disabilities
often need hands-on assistance with activities of daily living. Persons
with cognitive impairments generally need supervision, protection or
verbal reminders to accomplish everyday activities.