Turns Out, Medicare DOES Cover Long-Term Care
Does Medicare cover long-term care?
Most retirees have heard that Medicare does not pay for long-term care, nursing homes, or extended care in retirement.
In this video, we break down the often-cited statistic that nearly 70% of Americans age 65 and older will need some form of long-term care and explain what that number actually means.
We’ll look at what Medicare covers for skilled nursing facilities, rehabilitation after a hospitalization or hip fracture, home health care, and other medically necessary services, and where Medicare coverage ends and custodial long-term care begins.
We’ll also examine how much Medicare actually spends on long-term services and supports, what a nursing home stay can cost, and how long the average person really needs care.
We’ll discuss Medicaid spend-down rules, Medicaid-certified nursing homes, what can happen when someone exhausts their assets while privately paying for nursing home care, and why choosing the right facility can matter long before Medicaid ever becomes necessary.
Finally, we’ll look at the real financial risk of long-term care in retirement, including who is most likely to experience multi-year care costs and whether retirees should consider self-funding long-term care, purchasing long-term care insurance, or building additional healthcare expenses into their retirement plan.
If you are planning for retirement and wondering how much you need to save for healthcare, whether Medicare pays for nursing home care, how Medicare skilled nursing coverage works, or how to protect your retirement savings from long-term care costs, this video will help separate the actual data from some of the most common long-term care myths.
00:00 - Intro
01:58 - What “Seventy Percent” Actually Measures
03:29 - How the Media Runs With It
05:02 - Why This Keeps Happening
06:01 - What Medicare Actually Covers
11:28 - How Long Does Care Actually Last?
11:44 - Where the Line Really Is
13:56 - The Real Tail Risk
14:54 - The Medicaid Spend-Down Reality
18:34 - Bloopers