Long-Term Care Law and Legal Definition
Long-term care (LTC) refers to a variety of services which includes medical and non-medical care to people who have a chronic illness or disability and who cannot care for themselves for long periods of time. Long-term care helps meet health or personal needs. Most long-term care provides assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) like dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom. Long-term care can be provided at home, in the community, in assisted living or in nursing homes. As it is very expensive, insurance policies can be taken to cover the costs. In U.S the only Government program that pays for Long Term Care is Medicaid.
The following is an example of a federal statute defining long term care:
According to 42 USCS § 3002 [Title 42. The Public Health and Welfare; Chapter 35. Programs for Older Americans; Declaration of Objectives and Definitions], the term "long-term care" means "any service, care, or item (including an assistive device), including a disease prevention and health promotion service, an in-home service, and a case management service--
(A) intended to assist individuals in coping with, and to the extent practicable compensate for, a functional impairment in carrying out activities of daily living;
(B) furnished at home, in a community care setting (including a small community care setting as defined in subsection (g)(1), and a large community care setting as defined in subsection (h)(1), of section 1929 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396t)), or in a long-term care facility; and
(C) not furnished to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure a medical disease or condition."
