Long term care is the kind of care that you would need to help you perform daily activities if you had an ongoing illness or disability. It also includes the kind of care you would need if you had a severe cognitive problem like Alzheimer's disease. It is help with eating, bathing, dressing, transferring from a bed to a chair, toileting, continence, etc. This type of care isn't received in a hospital and isn't intended to cure you. It is not acute care. It is chronic care that you might need for the rest of your life. You can receive it in your own home, at a nursing home or other long term care facility. It is important to remember that you may need long term care 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.

Types of Long Term Care

Where is Long Term Care Provided?

What is the Risk of Long Term Care?

What is the Cost of Long Term Care?