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By The Numbers
Seniors Need Long-Term Care Advice
New research shows that many senior citizens would benefit from professional planning advice.
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A survey of 500 people age 65 and older found serious deficiencies in their understanding of how Medicare covers nursing home care. |
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| Sixty-three percent of respondents didn’t know basic facts about Medicare nursing facility benefits.
*For people entitled to Medicare, a benefit period starts the day they enter a hospital for at least three days of covered care and ends when they have been out of the hospital or a skilled nursing facility for 60 consecutive days. A new benefit period begins—and beneficiaries are entitled to another 100 days of long-term care coverage in such a facility—the next time they spend at least three covered days in a hospital. There is no limit to the number of coverage periods beneficiaries can have. |
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| Older respondents knew the least about limits on Medicare long-term care coverage. |
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| **Due to rounding, figures do not add up to 100%. |
| Source: Wegge Strategic Research, De Pere, Wisconsin and CareQuest Inc., Madison, February 2001, www.carequestplus.com . | |