Myth: Medicare pays for long term care expenses.

• FACT: Medicare pays only for short-term skilled care in nursing facilities after a hospitalization and limited skilled care at home. If you have a need for long term nursing home or in-home care, Medicare is not the financial answer. The primary sources of financing for long term care are out-of-pocket payments and Medicaid.

Myth: Everyone can depend on Medicaid as a safety net.

• FACT: Medicaid is a federal and state program that will pay for some types of long term care but only after an individual meets low income and asset eligibility criteria. It is not feasible for the government to pay long term care expenses for all of the people in the US. As the baby boom generation ages past 65, there is concern among policy experts that long term care costs will increase significantly and that federal and state governments will face major challenges in financing long term care.

Myth: Children can be held liable for their parents' long term care costs.

• FACT: In determining Medicaid eligibility of an adult, federal law does not permit states to use the income or resources of non-spouses. States cannot collect reimbursement from these relatives. A few states have laws making adult children responsible for support of indigent parents. This however would apply for costs not covered by Medicaid (Senior Law Web, 1997).