A policyholder needs help with bathing, dressing, and transferring, but requires no skilled medical services. Which level of long-term care does this describe?
Select an option to reveal the answer and the full 3-part explanation — free, no signup.
Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
Custodial care is non-skilled personal care that assists a person with activities of daily living — bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring, and continence — and is usually performed by nursing aides or other non-licensed caregivers. It does not require the services of a physician or a registered nurse. Skilled care requires daily licensed medical or nursing services ordered by a physician; intermediate care involves occasional or intermittent skilled nursing under a physician's direction. Long-term care insurance is designed primarily to cover custodial and intermediate care, the very services Medicare does not pay for, which makes the definition of custodial care foundational to understanding the product.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Skilled care is medical care that must be performed by or under the supervision of licensed skilled personnel, such as a registered nurse; it is not needed here.
- C) Intermediate care involves occasional skilled nursing or rehabilitative care under medical direction, not merely help with daily living tasks.
- D) Acute hospital care is short-term, intensive medical treatment for an illness or injury; it is not a level of long-term care.
Memory hook
Custodial = caregivers help with the basics, no RN required. It is exactly what Medicare will not pay.