While there are a variety of ways to pay for long-term care, it is important to think ahead about how you will fund the care you get. Generally, Medicare doesn’t pay for long-term care. Medicare pays only for two kinds of care: medically necessary care in a skilled nursing facility or home health care provided by skilled providers. However, you must meet certain conditions for Medicare to pay for these types of care.
Most long-term care is to assist people with support services such as activities of daily living like dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom?activities that are also called "custodial care." Custodial care is provided by non-skilled providers, but it may also include care that most people do for themselves, for example, diabetes monitoring. Medicare doesn’t pay for this type of care.
Some Medicare Advantage Plans (formerly Medicare + Choice) may offer limited skilled nursing facility and home care (skilled care) coverage if the care is medically necessary. You may have to pay some of the costs. For more information about Medicare Advantage Plans, go to the Medicare information site at http://www.medicare.gov/LongTermCare/Static/Home.asp
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Thus, the options for funding long-term care expenses are Medicaid (a needs-based federal and state government program for those who have spent down their assets), paying out-of-pocket expenses from current income and/or investments, and long-term care insurance.
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