Custodial care — help with daily living activities such as bathing and dressing that requires no skilled medical training — is generally:

Why A is correct

Custodial care is not medical treatment; it is assistance with the ordinary activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, eating, and mobility, for people who cannot perform these tasks independently. Standard medical expense policies are designed to pay for skilled, medically necessary care provided by licensed professionals, so purely custodial services are a classic exclusion. Individuals who need such supportive care generally look to long-term care insurance, which is specifically designed to cover the custodial and supervisory services that health policies exclude. This makes A the correct statement.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) Medicare Part B does not cover long-term custodial care, and Original Medicare as a whole excludes most custodial services in any setting regardless of which part is considered. Medicare's skilled care limits reinforce the point that custodial services are not insurable medical care.
• C) A physician's prescription does not convert custodial care into covered medical care; coverage is determined by the policy contract, which excludes custodial services as a category of care. A prescription cannot rewrite the policy contract, which controls what services are payable.
• D) HMOs cover care according to their contracts for members of all ages; custodial care is excluded as a category of service, not withheld or granted based on an age threshold. Managed care contracts cover care by medical necessity, not by the member's age.

Memory hook

Custodial = help with living, not healing. Health insurance heals; LTC insurance helps you live.

Why A is correct

Major medical policies typically exclude custodial care — assistance with bathing, dressing, feeding, and other activities of daily living that does not require skilled medical services. Such care is viewed as maintenance rather than treatment of a covered sickness or injury. By contrast, medically necessary hospital care, surgery, and physician-ordered home health care are core covered benefits under standard major medical plans. This is one of the standard exclusions tested under the exclusions and limitations objectives for medical expense insurance.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) Physician-ordered hospitalization for a covered sickness is a primary benefit of major medical coverage, not an exclusion.
• C) Surgery required after an accidental injury is a covered expense under standard major medical plans.
• D) Home health care ordered by a physician following surgery is typically covered as medically necessary care.

Memory hook

Custodial = comfort care, not a cure. The policy pays to treat you, not to wipe your brow and hand you a fork.