Long Term Care services are designed to assist someone who has lost some or all of the ability to care for himself or herself due to an illness, an accident or simply the frailty of aging. Long Term Care includes a wide range of services which help people maintain the normal activities of daily living - like bathing, continence, dressing, eating, toileting and transferring (moving from a bed to a chair or from a chair to standing, etc.). Long Term Care services can be provided in your home, in and through community resources or in a formal setting such as a nursing home or assisted living facility. WHAT IS LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE? Long Term Care Insurance provides funds to help you cover long-term care costs in the same manner Health Insurance provides financial coverage for doctor's visits and hospital bills. However, it is very important to understand that Long Term Care Insurance and Health Insurance are two distinctly different types of insurance. Health Insurance coverage applies to sicknesses and illnesses from which the insured is expected to recover; these are typically known as acute conditions. But would Health Insurance provide benefits for someone who suffered permanent paralysis from an accident or stroke? Or for someone who developed Alzheimer's? Or for someone who simply became frail as natural result of the aging process and as a result suffers a long-term inability to care for one's self? Probably not. Health Insurance would likely provide coverage for doctor visits, hospitalization, and maybe even some prescription medicines. But if the individual's condition progresses to the point where he or she requires constant supervision, Health Insurance would likely not provide coverage. Long Term Care Insurance has been designed to pick up and provide coverage where Health Insurance leaves off. So in the case where the individual's condition has progressed to the point where he or she requires constant supervision or assistance carrying out basic activities of daily living, long term care insurance would provide funds to help cover the insured's long-term care expenses. Those who have purchased long term care insurance share that it has also helped them maintain their independence and freedom of choice over how and where their care services are provided. It can allow you to protect your assets and ensure that your long-term care needs will not create a physical or financial burden on your famiy.