快速事實和其他長期護理信息
什麼是長期護理？
Long-term care is different from the rest of your health care, and it’s not typically covered under health insurance policies, HMO plans, Medicare or Medicare supplemental policies. Health care plans are designed to provide coverage when you receive care from a doctor or treatment in a hospital. Some may also cover nursing home care or home care -but typically, only on a short term or limited basis.
Long-term care includes personal care, such as help with bathing, eating or dressing that you require over a lengthy period. That’s why it can be very expensive. Long-term care can range from simple assistance with activities in your own home or a residential care facility or it can mean highly skilled care in a nursing facility. The possibility of needing long-term care due to an illness or physical disability is something most people would rather not think about. But as we get older, and because we are living longer, the likelihood that we will need some kind of assistance is very real. Long-term care coverage will help you live your life with dignity and with independence.
你需要知道什麼
If you require long-term care because of a chronic physical condition such as arthritis or Parkinson’s disease, who will pay for it? Should you need assistance because of a degenerative mental disease, such as Alzheimer’s, who will pay for care? The answer is probably you, unless you act to protect yourself.
長期照護費用可能非常昂貴。2011 年， California養老院的平均費用為每天 250 美元（或每年 91,250 美元）。 入住養老院的人中，44.1% 的人一生中至少會入住一年，43.9% 的人會入住一到五年，12% 的人一生中會入住五年或更長時間（美國衛生與公眾服務部/疾病管制與預防中心《2004 年全國養老院調查：概述》）。這意味著超過一半入住養老院的人將花費 91,250 美元至 456,250 美元（以 2011 年美元計），而每十個人中就有一個人會花費更多，甚至可能多得多。你也不應該忘記，大多數人在入住養老院之前，就已經在家中為長期照護的費用苦苦掙扎了多年。大多數人都不願去想自己可能需要長期照護的可能性。然而，“近十分之七的 65 歲以上的人在其一生中的某個階段都需要長期護理”，（美國）。美國衛生與公眾服務部，2009 年），（為自己或親人支付長期照護費用，除非提前做好計劃，否則可能意味著犧牲一生的儲蓄或失去經濟獨立。
長期護理事實：
醫療補助事實
In 1995, 35.2 million people received Medicaid benefits. 11% were elderly.
In 1995, $152.4 billion was expended for Medicaid benefits. 26.3% of the cost was for the elderly. 35.4% of the costs for the elderly were for LTC services.
Medicaid pays half of all nursing home costs and 14% of home health costs in the U.S.
Three-fourths of Medicaid LTC spending is on institutional services.
Source: “Medicaid Facts”, The Kaiser Commission on the Future of Medicaid, November, 1997.
LTC 事實
美國超過 1200 萬人需要長期護理。
65 歲以下需要照顧的人中，近一半，包括 53 萬名在工作年齡的成年人。
在護老院的 1,3 萬名長者中，一半是 85 歲以上，80% 以上患有嚴重障礙症（需要協助進行三項或更多日常生活活動）。 另外有 1.3 萬人有重大長期護理需求的人在社區中獲得照顧。
資料來源：凱撒家庭基金會，2001 年 3 月醫療補助事實
LTC 保險事實
Over 5.8 million LTC insurance policies have been purchased in the U.S. through June 30, 1998. About 450,000 of these were purchased in California.
Nationwide, there is 5% market penetration rate for LTC policy sales. California’s market penetration is 7.21%.
Nationwide, over 2,100 employers offer group LTC insurance. Companies include: Nissan, Procter & Gamble, IBM, AT&T, CBS, Delta Airlines, Dow Chemical.
Two-thirds of policy purchasers have incomes of less than $35,000.
One-third of policy purchasers have assets of less than $30,000.
The most frequently cited reason for an individual purchasing long-term care insurance is to maintain independence of choice.
Source: Health Insurance Association of America, Survey, 1998
消費者事實
Seniors own 77% of the nation’s personal wealth and 40% of the discretionary income.
Older consumers prefer “good value” while younger consumers prefer “good sales”.
Older buyers rate “helpful, friendly, knowledgeable salespeople” higher than do younger buyers.
Source: Research Alert, Spring 1998
Women are disproportionately over-represented in the lower income brackets and under-represented in the higher income brackets even though women constitute 51% of the California workforce.
Of all people over the age of 65 receiving Social Security benefits in California, 6.2% of the males are also receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI – meaning they are disabled), whereas 10.3% of the females are also receiving SSI.
Of all people over the age of 65 in California, the average total personal income is $32,300 for males and $23,900 for females ($8,400 less for females).
Of all people over the age of 65 in California, 11.8% of the males are on Medi-Cal compared with 15.3% of the females.
資料來源：加州財政部，當前人口調查報告，2001 年 3 月
A Resident’s Rights In A Nursing Home
入住安養院後，您仍享有所有基本人權和公民權利及自由。聯邦和州法規詳細列出了養老院居民的權利，並要求Department of Health Care Services的工作人員在檢查您的養老院時，決定該養老院是否在保護和促進您的權利。
Find additional information about your rights as a resident in a nursing home or contact the Department of Public Health’s, Licensing and Certification District Office nearest you. To get a listing of the Licensing and Certification district offices, please click here, or contact the Ombudsman Program in your county. The telephone number for the local Ombudsman Program is posted in your nursing home.