Options Counseling provides guidance to help people make informed choices about long-term services and supports.
Our Options Counselors help individuals think through the pros and cons of various options, while considering their unique situation, values, resources, and preferences. Options Counseling may be helpful to individuals who:
- Do not know how to access long-term services and supports
- Request transition assistance in moving from one living setting to another
- Lack awareness of existing community resources and supports
- Want to plan for future long-term services and supports needs
What are long-term care services and supports?
Long-term care refers to the range of services and supports available to meet an individual’s personal care needs over a long period of time. Most long-term care is not medical care, but rather assistance with basic personal tasks of everyday life, sometimes called Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), such as:
- Bathing
- Dressing
- Using the toilet
- Transferring (to or from a bed or chair)
- Caring for incontinence
- Eating
- Housework
- Managing money
- Taking medication
- Preparing and cleaning up after meals
- Shopping for groceries or clothes
- Using the telephone or other communication devices
- Caring for pets
- Responding to emergency alerts, such as fire alarms
Who pays for long-term care services and supports?
Unfortunately, there is not a simple answer to this question. Who pays largely depends on the financial means (income and assets) of the individual in need of care, and the extent of care required. In Texas, Medicaid is the primary payer for long-term care services.
Learn more about long-term care services and supports: