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Intro
Long-term care (LTC) helps with daily tasks like bathing and dressing. You might need LTC if you ever get sick, injured, or age. If none of these apply to you, you might not be human.
Post jargon
acute: short-term, intensive care for sudden or severe conditions
ADLs (activies of daily living): basic tasks like bathing, dressing, eating, transferring, toileting, and continence
Alzheimer's: the most common type of dementia (memory impairment or loss)
chronic: a condition lasting 90+ days, typically not curable
cognitive impairment: memory or reasoning problems (e.g., Alzheimer’s or dementia)
dementia: a broad term for memory issues, including Alzheimer's
HIPAA: that privacy law you hear about at your doctor’s office
LTC: long-term care
LTCi: long-term care insurance
➡️ Explore all the LTC jargon
Criteria
When the government signed HIPAA (the law you always hear about in your doctor's office) in 1996, they set the criteria for when you qualify for benefits from long-term care insurance.
The criteria are:
- Cognitive impairment (think Alzheimer's or dementia) OR
- Needing substantial help with two activities of daily living (ADLs) for at least 90 days
Cognitive impairment
Cognitive impairment is a decline in mental abilities like memory and decision-making, often caused by conditions like dementia or Alzheimer's.
For long-term care insurance (LTCi), benefits trigger when someone is diagnosed with cognitive impairment and needs substantial supervision to protect their health or safety.
Activities of daily living (ADLs)
An alternative criterion is needing help with two of the six ADLs listed below.
- Bathing - Washing yourself and getting in/out of the tub or shower
- Dressing - Getting dressed, including zippers and buttons
- Toileting - Using the toilet and cleaning up
- Transferring - Moving in and out of bed or a chair
- Continence - Managing bladder control or incontinence
- Eating - Feeding yourself (no cooking involved)
- Bathing and dressing top the list because they need fine motor skills (which are usually the first to go). Think of bending on slippery floors or tying shoelaces.
- They wrote HIPAA in 1996, so they didn't include mobile phone use as the seventh activity of daily living. 😏
Causes
Long-term care isn’t just a result of aging or cognitive issues.
And long-term care isn't needed just by seniors.
Watch this 2-minute video about David, who needed long-term care starting in his 40s after a back injury at work.
Quality of life
Needing long-term care doesn’t always mean the end of living well. You can still visit the grandkids, gossip with friends, and binge-watch your favorite Netflix shows.
A few things to help you live well include:
- Ensure you have the right care at home or in a senior community.
- Stay mentally sharp and physically active by engaging in hobbies or new challenges.
- Remain social with loved ones and friends.
Wrap up
Most of us will require three years of long-term care. Think of it like those awkward high school years—full of lessons, ups and downs. Just another part of life.
By learning about it now, you’ll be ready when it's needed. 👍🏼
