Life & Health Insurance Practice Exam 2025 - Free Practice Questions and Study Guide

Custodial care refers to support services that help individuals with daily living activities but do not involve medical treatment or skilled nursing care. This type of care is typically provided to those who need assistance with basic tasks, such as bathing, dressing, eating, and maintaining personal hygiene, often due to age, illness, or disability. Custodial care is seen as the least severe form of patient assistance because it focuses on non-medical support and is often delivered in settings like nursing homes or assisted living facilities.

In contrast, skilled care involves medically trained professionals providing specific health-related services, while intermediate care lies between custodial and skilled care, offering some level of medical monitoring. Acute care is reserved for patients who require immediate and intensive medical attention, often in hospital settings. This differentiation in types of care illustrates why custodial care is viewed as the least severe, primarily concentrating on supportive assistance rather than clinical treatment.