Medicare and Long-Term Care Insurance work together to protect your health and financial security, but they serve very different purposes. Medicare provides limited coverage for long-term care services, covering skilled nursing facility care only after a qualifying hospital stay of at least three days and only for up to 100 days per benefit period. Medicare does not cover custodial care, which includes help with daily activities like bathing, dressing, or eating when this is the only care needed.
This coverage gap is why many people purchase separate long-term care insurance. These policies specifically cover the extended care services that Medicare does not, creating comprehensive protection against long-term care costs that can quickly deplete retirement savings.
When evaluating long-term care insurance, look for policies that begin benefits when you cannot perform at least two activities of daily living independently, such as eating, walking, transferring, dressing, bathing, or using the toilet. Most policies also cover cognitive impairment like Alzheimer’s disease.
Review the types of care covered by any policy you consider.