What Long Term Care Can Look Like
Long Term Care
What you may traditionally think of long term care is not always what it looks like in reality.
Nearly 70% of 65-year-olds will need some form of long term care (LTC).1 When people think about LTC, they tend to jump to worst-case scenarios. For example, one may imagine developing dementia and permanently moving into a nursing home. The reality is that LTC services vary significantly depending on the level of care required.
Long Term Care Insurance Provides Options
There are many ways to pay for care when you need it and where you’d like to receive it.
The goal of LTC is to assist individuals to stay as independent and comfortable as possible. This includes both medical and non-medical care –and the type of care can change over time. Here are some common types of LTC beyond traditional nursing homes:
- In-home care: Non-medical care that aims to support activities of daily living (ADLs).
- Home care services: This can include homemakers who help with meals, transportation, and errands, or professional home health aids who provide hands-on assistance with activities such as bathing, dressing, eating, and mobility.
- Home health care: Delivered by licensed medical professionals at home, services can include wound care, medication management, physical therapy, speech therapy, and more.
- Adult day care: Individuals visit a supervised facility that provides daytime care and activities for older adults.
- Assisted living: In assisted living communities, individuals can live independently, but meals, housekeeping, and assistance with ADLs are provided.
How Long Term Care Insurance Can Help
LTC insurance can provide the flexibility to choose high-quality care in your preferred setting, sparing you from being limited by affordability or Medicare requirements. Typically, LTC insurance benefits are triggered once a person needs help with two or more ADLs, such as bathing, dressing, or preparing meals. Whether you are in your 40s, or at retirement age, it’s not too late to make a plan.
Schedule an appointment today.
1 How Much Care Will You Need? Administration for Community Living. acl.gov/ltc/basic-needs/how-much-care-will-you-need, Retrieved July 16, 2026.
2 The age-old problem of long-term care. MIT News. news.mit.edu/2025/age-old-problem-long-term-care-jonathan-gruber-book-0505, May 5, 2025.
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