Long Term Care • Introduction • ADLs • Levels of Care • Assisted Living • CCRCs
Long term care covers a broad range of services for individuals who need help with activities of daily living (ADLs) due to chronic illness, disability, or aging. The six ADLs recognized under tax-qualified LTC plans are bathing, dressing, eating, transference, continence, and toileting — taking medication is not an ADL.
Levels of care from most to least intensive: acute, supervisory, skilled, and personal. Care settings include home-based, community-based (e.g., adult day care), and residential (nursing homes and ALFs). Assisted living facilities cost roughly half the price of a nursing home (~$2,700/month vs. ~$5,000/month) and provide meals, personal care, medication help, and emergency staff — but not on-staff physical therapists. CCRCs offer a full continuum of care in one location with fees tied to the level of services needed.