Long-Term Care

Long-Term Care Long-term support and services can be provided at home, in the community, in assisted living/personal care facilities, or in nursing homes. Individuals may need long-term support and services at any age. Medicare and most standard health insurance plans don't pay for long-term care. 01 Some examples of tasks associated with long-term care are: walking, getting dressed, going to the bathroom, cooking, eating, shopping, and everything else that a healthy person might take for granted that they can achieve on a day-to-day basis. 02 Long-term care may be needed because a person cannot care for themselves anymore. It also may be needed because someone is terminally ill, injured, or disabled in some way. Long-term care may be needed for weeks, months, or 31 years, depending on the situation Experts have estimated that at least 60% of people may need long-term help in their lives. 03 The application and use of the term helps determine Skilled nursing care is a term used by whether a health care plan will pay for the health care professionals and health care plans. Health Care plans can be: health insurance plans, Medicare, and Medicaid. care or not. The term is used to show the difference between medical personnel versus care from aides, people that volunteer their time, family, or friends. Skilled care is sometimes Personal care services are partially covered by a healthcare plan. usually included in skilled care. 04 A skilled care provider often also helps with activities of daily living. ...... ........ A skilled care provider offers services that are usually thought to be provided by a custodial caregiver. People who offer custodial services can sometimes perform duties that are meant for skilled providers. Such activities can include: taking blood pressure, giving medicines, administering shots or changing bandages for wounds. 05 > Medicare doesn't typically cover custodial care or long-term care 06 All nursing homes are skilled care facilities. Not all states license personal care facilities, which might provide less than 24-hour registered nursing care. "Skilled care patients" in nursing homes are referred to as such because they are receiving a higher level of around-the-clock care from various medical professionals. Most nursing home residents have medical needs, but Medicare and other insurance plans will only pay for patients that have certain acute medical needs where recovery is anticipated. People with chronic medical problems could be covered by Medicaid if they meet eligibility requirements. Not all facilities can accept Medicaid patients/residents. To be a certified Medicare nursing home and receive payments from Medicare, a nursing home has to meet the Medicare definition of a "skilled nursing facility." There has to be registered nurses on duty 24 hours a day, and there has to be a doctor on call at all times. They also have to have an ambulance service to a local hospital. 07 Informal caregivers can be family, friends, church members or anyone else who provides unpaid care out of love, respect, or friendship to a person who may be disabled. There are far more informal caregivers and without them, this country would have a hard time pro- viding money for the caregiving needs of a growing population of disabled people. The estimated number of informal caregivers range from 20 million to 50 million people. That represents about 15% of the total population providing part-time or full-time care for people. 46 The "typical caregiver" is a daughter, age 46, with a full-time job, providing an average of 18 hours per week to one or more of her parents. Adults aged 20 to 75 typically provide informal care to a family or friend. 38% care for aging parents and 11% care for their spouse. 20 - 75 On average, two-thirds of the caregivers for people over age 50 are working full-time or part-time. Two-thirds of those-about 45% of working caregivers-report having to rearrange their work schedule, decrease their hours or take an unpaid leave in order to meet their caregiving responsibilities. ....... Studies estimate that informal caregivers lose about $660,000 in wages over the course of their life because of work that they have sacrificed. The estimates of productivity losses to businesses because of time off for caregiving range from $11 billion to $29 billion annually. The average amount of time informal caregivers provide their services is 4.5 years. However, 20% will provide care for 5 years or more. As much as 22% of the population over age 65 could be receiving long-term care services. However, much of that care can be given by an informal caregiver. It is estimated that 61% of informal caregivers provide about 20 hours or more a week of care, and 27% provide more than 50 hours a week of care. At least 7% or more of the aging population is receiving care from formal caregivers in assisted U8 living/personal care or in a nursing home. U9 Nursing home/long-term care costs are shared by the family and Medicaid if eligible. This might include payments by the veterans administration or private insurance. An Infographic by, Concordia Lutheran iaistries www.concordialm.org http://www.longtermcarelink.net/eldercare/long_term_care.htm http://www.medicare.gov/glossary/l.html http://www.medicare.gov/coverage/custodial-care-non-coverage.html#1305