A definition of long term care is medical and non medical services used by people that have an illness or disability. These services can meet both needs pertaining to health or personal needs. Some needs that would be addressed in long term care are bathing, dressing and such. Usually long term medical care is provided within a facility like a nursing home or in assisted living. It can also be provided in the person’s own home. Long Term health care is not always for old people; it may be needed at any time.

There are many Baby Boomers and they are all getting older. It is expected that by the year 2020 there will be 12 million seniors that are going to need to use long term health care. Some of them will be taken care of by family members in their homes but many more will need somewhere to go in order to get long term care.

Long Term health care is not free. In order to pay the people that provide the care the recipient has to pay for it somehow. Medicare does not pay for long term care in normal situations. If a person needs to go to a nursing home because they are sick Medicare will kick in. But if the person needs to go to a nursing home because they can not dress themselves anymore or because they can not seem to get to the bathroom on time and are otherwise healthy; they will have to find another way to pay for it. This type of care is called custodial care.

If the person needing care is low income with little or no assets some states will pay for long term care. Criteria for getting funding is different in every state so it is hard to tell if a person is eligible until they try to get funding. Most times eligibility will depend on income and the resources one has available to them.

There are many different levels of long term health care and being admitted to a nursing home is only one. There are meals that can be delivered to the person, there are services to transport people from here and there, a person can come in and clean the house or the person can participate in adult day care while other members of the family are at work. Many times the services will be free or have low costs.

Adult day care is available for those that do not need care all 24 hours of a day. The person needing care can interact in recreational and social activities and then go home when the family caring for the person is home. Telephone reassurance is a program where a person has a button they can push if an emergency arises. There is also services where a representative will call each day to be sure the person is okay. This is a great service for those that want to stay in their own home longer. There are services that transport people to the doctor or to the grocery store. Medicare will not pay for transportation unless it is in an ambulance. If a person can not cook there are services that deliver meals for them to heat up. Maid service is also available for those who can no longer clean well but this has to be paid out of pocket. These custodial services have to be paid other ways besides Medicare.

There is insurance for Long term medical care that will pay for both medical and custodial programs and for nursing homes. Each state has a different rate and rates also reflect the age of the person and their existing health. It is best to try to get this insurance when you do not need it because you will have to be examined and deemed to be in good health. It is less expensive when you are younger. This insurance has to be obtained personally. They do not show up in many employment packages.

Before you go out and buy a policy go to Long Term Care Insurance, ask questions and request a long term care insurance quote. We represent 20 of the top LTCi providers. This gives you tremendous options. For more information on how to increase website traffic visit Clickadvantage.