What Does Long-Term Care Insurance Pay For?

While each policy has exclusions and limitations, generally, this insurance covers expenses for: 
  • Home health aides
  • Skilled nursing
  • Assisted living
  • Nursing homes

What Are The Types of Long-Term Care?

Either in your home or in a facility, long-term care refers to any kind of support for daily living on a long-term basis. These types of long-term care services can occur at any location – for a person of any age. 
In your home care can be delivered by:
  • Personal Care Assistants or Companions – for household tasks like cleaning, cooking, running errands
  • Home Health Aides – for personal care like bathing and dressing
  • Nurses – support IVs, medications, more complex health issues
 In a facility the range of care levels includes:
  • Adult Day Health Care – offers daytime social and therapeutic activities, while you still live at home
  • Assisted Living – allows you to live independently with on-site support for daily basics
  • Nursing Homes – give more skilled and intense care, supervision, medication, therapies, and rehabilitation
Temporary long term care (need for care for only weeks or months)
  • Rehabilitation from a hospital stay
  • Recovery from illness
  • Recovery from injury
  • Recovery from surgery
  • Terminal medical condition
Ongoing long term care (need for care for many months or years)
  • Chronic medical conditions
  • Chronic severe pain
  • Permanent disabilities
  • Dementia
  • Ongoing need for help with activities of daily living
  • Need for supervision
Long-term care services may be provided in any of the following settings:
  • In the home of the recipient
  • In the home of a family member or friend of the recipient
  • At an adult day services location
  • In an assisted living facility or board-and-care home
  • In a hospice facility
  • In a nursing home
While anyone can need long-term care at any time, the risk of having a long-term care need may increase as you age.