While aging adults can use Medicare and Medicaid to afford some of their medical expenses, the costs of extended disability or illness are typically left out of coverage from most health insurance providers. For expenses having to do with a chronic illness, injury or disability, many people turn to long-term care insurance to help pay for a variety of services outside of typical medical expenses. In choosing to invest in long-term care insurance, it is very important to understand what exactly it can and cannot cover when a policy becomes activated.

                Typically, long-term care insurance can pay for a stay in a nursing home or assisted living facility, or in-home care such as nursing, physical or occupational therapy and even household chores. The point of long-term care insurance is to pay for personal care rather than medical care having to do with a chronic illness, injury or disability, as a complement to health insurance plans, including Medicare, which specifically do not cover those costs.

                When such time comes that a chronic illness or injury begins to take a toll on your daily living tasks or safety, long-term care insurance is crucial to helping pay for help in the areas of your life that are affected. Long-term care insurance policies can pay for services as they are billed, or reimburse policy holders after receiving proof of services and payment, depending on the insurance carrier and the services provided. When it comes to planning for the likelihood of needing long-term care in some form in old age, long-term care insurance is a great tool to consider in conjunction with other retirement savings or financial planning.