Every now and then, we all need medical attention. Of course, it is not something we’re over the moon about, but hey, one can’t avoid the inevitable. Based on the severity of your ailment or disease, your Doctor will make recommendations and suggestions. He will decide whether your medical condition requires short term or long term care. What does this mean, you ask? Well, today, we will go over the difference between short term and long term care insurance and practices.
Short Term Care: As the name suggests, short term care is temporary and brief. It provides medical and custodial services. This kind of medical care usually includes post-surgery care, physiotherapy, trauma care management, recovery from an accident, postpartum recovery, rehabilitation facilities, and other ailments that are goal oriented and demands that the patient receiving this type of care stays at the medical facility for a specific period.
This can vary from weeks to months or even longer based on the severity of your condition and on factors such as your body’s mechanism to cope with the treatment and its responsiveness to the medical care you are receiving. For instance, a person recovering from an accident may be given home care as opposed to a person who underwent surgery who is required to live at a medical facility for a specific period of time so his or her caregiver can monitor the patient’s condition and recovery.
Read more about the FAQs on Short Term and Respite Care
Short term medical care includes services such as wound dressing and sanitation, administration of prescription drugs and injections, saline treatment, patient education, post surgery consultation and care, monitoring and rehabilitative therapy.
Short term care insurance policies typically pay for services that include the intervention of a medical professional. Services that involve home care and assisted living. Short term insurance policies do not pay for years at a stretch, instead it pays for benefits for twelve months or less. Many policies have a 0 day deductible and a full year of benefits. Most people find this very affordable and convenient.
Long Term Care: Long term care includes a stay at a nursing home for long periods of time, personal assistance at home, adult day care centers, assisted living facilities and skilled nursing facilities, collectively known as long-term care facilities or LTCFs. This is a care type designed especially for our senior citizens who need help with simple everyday activities such as bathing, using the toilet, getting dressed, eating, grooming and other everyday activities that we take for granted. It caters to patients with serious medical conditions like Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, renal failure, cancer care, strokes and other critical illnesses.
Learn more about short term and long term care insurance
Many Long-term care insurance policies cover a variety of medical services such as home care, assisted living, adult daycare, respite care, hospice care, nursing home, Alzheimer’s facilities, etc. The coverage usually kicks in from day one and continues based on the terms and conditions of the policy you enroll under
There are two types of long term policies: Traditional policies and combination or hybrid policies.
The average cost of long term care is approximately $225 a day or $6,844 per month for a semi-private room in a nursing home, and $253 a day or $7,698 per month for a private room in a nursing home.
Typically long-term care facilities offer a high level of medical care and support, while short term care facilities provide support with recovery and rehabilitation. Long term care involves the treatment of chronic and critical illnesses such as heart attacks, strokes, ALS, renal failure and the likes. Short term care offers services like speech therapy, counselling, occupational therapy, post trauma care, physiotherapy etc.
You will find more information on the benefits, eligibility and deductibles of long term care insurance
Are you looking for professional advice on this topic. How about booking a consultation with our experts here at Flagship Financial
