What Is Long Term Care?
When Jenny’s mom first went into the hospital, she started doing a few things around her home. She started getting it into order for the day she recovered and came back to resume her normal life.
After weeks of recovery, Jenny’s mom did come home – but not in the same state as before she went into the hospital. It was the little things that Jenny first started to notice. Her mom had trouble bathin
g herself. She couldn’t keep the house as clean as she once did. She wasn’t getting health meals on a regular basis.
While many of us need a helping hand to get back on our feet after surgery, there are some cases when a full recovery just isn’t possible. Long term care focuses on helping people cope with carrying on life with a reduced level of functioning over a long period of time – possibly even for life. There isn’t the possibility of recovery from a medical condition, instead the focus is on accepting and living with the current conditions.
Long term care isn’t synonymous with nursing home or assisted living. In many cases a person can continue to live in their home with some help from family, friends or in-home care.
For the most part, long term care is not covered by insurance or Medicaid. Because the person is not in recovery, it’s not seen as a medical issue. Instead, the costs will be absorbed by the individual or her family. Or with long term care insurance.
In many cases your loved one may still be available for long term care insurance, depending on her medical condition. The best way to find out if this is an option for you is to contact a financial planner or insurance agent with specialization in long term care.
