Long-term-care insurance focuses on day-to-day care

By Vladimir Sasic

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Oct 09, 2011

~~Question: Do I really need long-term-care (LTC) insurance? Doesn't Medicare cover most of those costs?
Answer: Most people who have significant assets to protect and those who are serious about their quality and independence of living in retirement need LTC insurance. Medicare is a great government health insurance program but it provides very limited custodial-type benefits and is more focused on acute skilled care usually provided by doctors and hospitals. LTC happens to be mostly about custodial care -- help with day-to-day activities such as dressing, bathing, eating, toileting, transferring (from bed to chair, for example) and maintaining continence. Medicare usually covers custodial costs during the first 100 days of your condition and that is very short term in nature, not long term.
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Question: Do I really need long-term-care (LTC) insurance? Doesn't Medicare cover most of those costs?

Answer: Most people who have significant assets to protect and those who are serious about their quality and independence of living in retirement need LTC insurance. Medicare is a great government health insurance program but it provides very limited custodial-type benefits and is more focused on acute skilled care usually provided by doctors and hospitals. LTC happens to be mostly about custodial care -- help with day-to-day activities such as dressing, bathing, eating, toileting, transferring (from bed to chair, for example) and maintaining continence. Medicare usually covers custodial costs during the first 100 days of your condition and that is very short term in nature, not long term. Login for more...