When a person purchases long term care insurance, he or she basically pays for a range of services or benefits that are not normally covered by health insurance. It is tailored to people with varying needs and health conditions and can be provided at home, nursing institution and other types of health facilities. A person may need long term care policy due to an illness, disability, fatal injury, etc. Studies show that about 60 percent of the population in the United States will need long term care in their lifespan.

There are three basic types of long term care, namely skilled, intermediate and custodial. These are relevant terms we need to understand when we look at long term care insurance. Each type is different and provides specific kinds of assistance, depending on the person’s medical condition.

Skilled Care

This type of long term care policy is applicable for individuals who have acquired a serious injury or illness. The goal here is to help get you better. Skilled nursing care has to be supervised by medical professionals such as doctors, nurses, and licensed therapists. It is provided on a daily basis and consists of a treatment plan to help the person recuperate.

There are various types of conditions that require a registered health expert to take care of you. For instance, if you have diabetes, your blood sugar level must be administered regularly.

Intermediate Care

Another kind of long term care insurance is intermediate care. It is pretty much the same as skilled care because it also has to be administered by medical experts to help the patient recover from his or her illness or injury. The only difference is that it is not provided on a day to day basis. Instead, the extent of care would depend on the treatment plan recommended by the doctor. For example, if the patient has injured his ankle, he or she has to see a therapist and only undergo a series of range of motion exercise several times a week.

Custodial Care

Custodial care is basically a full coverage long term care policy, either provided by at home or nursing institution. This type of assistance isn’t designed to improve the patient’s health, but rather assist the person in performing his or her personal activities of daily living– say, bathing, cooking, walking, eating, cleaning and many others.

Unlike the housing facilities for senior citizens, nursing homes are able to provide a high level of health care because the patient is supervised by licensed physicians, nurses and other medical professionals who are on the premises at all times and watching over the patients round the clock.