Medicare and Long-Term Care

Many people believe that Medicare covers long-term care services. This is not the case.

Medicare was never intended nor designed to support long-term care. Medicare was implemented in 1965 as an amendment to the Social Security Act. Then and now, it is a federal health insurance program that provides hospital and medical expense coverage, primarily for those 65 and older.

As wide-spread and encompassing as the program may be, however, Medicare does not contain a comprehensive long-term care component. It does not pay for ongoing assisted living or custodial care costs, which constitute the most common of long-term care services and needs. Medicare covers only those services that help the patient recover from acute illness or injury or need the level care that nursing homes provide. Payment for skilled nursing care by Medicare requires that the patient must have first been admitted and hospitalized for the same condition.

Medicare’s coverage for any ongoing medical care services is restricted to skilled nursing care and home health care. However, this coverage is limited and be considered (or relied on) for long-term care.

The best time to have a discussion about present and future medical and personal needs is for individuals in their 40’s and 50’s and in good health. With this type of early conversation we can secure the most suitable type of long-term care at the right time.

Long Term Care Insurance is available in many forms to cover all or part of the cost that Medicare does not cover when the need arises.

Contact us today to start those conversations.