The Language of Long Term Care

As we have worked to help find families find the financial means to pay for care, we’ve come to realize that when an individual first develops a need for long term care, they or their caregivers are rarely knowledgeable about the subject. There are many confusing phrases, definitions and acronyms that those of us that focus on the subject full-time mistakenly assume that everyone understands.

In fact, most families are blissfully unaware and thoroughly confused by long term care terminology. In our ongoing effort to demystify the subject, we have begun creating short articles that explain some of the basic language and answer frequently asked questions.

For example, we have written about what are the Activities of Daily Living and why are they important? What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid? And we have discussed the concept of consumer direction and how it is playing a larger role especially for individuals using Medicaid.

We hope our readers will contribute their questions and ideas about what they find confusing in the long term care space.