About Medicare
Long-Term Care
Long-term care can involve a variety of services that include medical and non-medical care for people who have a chronic illness or disability. Long-term care helps meet health and/or personal needs. Most long-term care is to assist people with support services such as activities of daily living like dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom. Long-term care can be provided at home, in the community, in assisted living or in nursing homes. It is important to remember that the need for long-term care can happen at any age.
You may never need long-term care. This year, about nine million men and women over the age of 65 will need long-term care. By 2020, 12 million older Americans will need long-term care. Most will be cared for at home; family and friends are the sole caregivers for 70 percent of the elderly. A study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that people who reach age 65 will likely have a 40 percent chance of entering a nursing home. About 10 percent of the people who enter a nursing home will stay there five years or more.
To learn more about long-term care, click here.
Long-Term Care Resources
Health Insurances Association of America
Missouri Department of Insurance Financial Institutions & Professional Registration
National Center for Assisted Living Financial Information
National Center for Assisted Living Planning
HospiceDirectory.org - A searchable online consumer database that lists hospices in North America and the U.S. territories to assist families and individuals in locating a hospice within their community easily and quickly.