Share of Cost – What is Long-Term Care
Long-term care involves the assistance or supervision you may need when you cannot do some of the basic “activities of daily living” (ADLs), generally eating, continence, bathing, dressing, or moving from a bed to a chair. You might need assistance with ADLs if you suffer from an injury like a broken hip, an illness, a stroke, or from advanced age and frailty. Other people may need long-term care because of mental deterioration, called “cognitive impairment,” which can be caused by Alzheimer’s Disease, other mental illnesses, or brain disorders.
Long-term care is sometimes called “custodial care” or “personal care.” Formal long-term care (the kind of care you must pay for) is provided by skilled and unskilled workers. Unskilled workers are sometimes supervised by qualified medical personnel such as registered nurses. Unpaid family members and friends frequently provide informal long-term care.
Long-term care services can be provided in your home, in a community program like an Adult Day Care Center, in an assisted living facility licensed as a Residential Care Facility (RCF) or a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE), or in a nursing home.
Long-term care is not necessarily “long-term.” Some people only need long-term care for a few months, for example, while recovering at home from a broken hip, while others may need care for the rest of their lives.
Source: CA Dept of Ins