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Guide · California

Care terms, explained

The words used in discharge meetings and on insurance letters, in plain language, each with its official source.

Last reviewed October 2, 2026. Facts are linked to the official sources listed at the end of the page.

Jump to a term: Activities of daily living · Benefit period · BFCC-QIO · CBAS · Custodial care · Discharge planning · Durable medical equipment · Home care · Home health · Homebound · Hospice · IHSS · Important Message from Medicare · Inpatient rehabilitation facility · MOON · Notice of Medicare Non-Coverage · Observation status · Palliative care · RCFE · Respite care · Skilled care · Skilled nursing facility · Terminally ill

Activities of daily living (ADLs)
Basic self-care tasks: generally eating, continence, bathing, dressing, and moving from a bed to a chair.1
Benefit period
How Medicare measures hospital and skilled nursing facility use. It begins on the day inpatient hospital or skilled nursing facility care starts, and ends after 60 days in a row without inpatient hospital care or skilled care in a facility.2
BFCC-QIO
The organization Medicare uses for quality-of-care complaints and fast appeals. California's toll-free line is 1-877-588-1123.16
CBAS (Community-Based Adult Services)
Adult day health care offered as a Medi-Cal managed care benefit. For plan members, the Medi-Cal plan decides eligibility.17
Custodial care
Long-term help with activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing or eating. Medicare also calls it long-term care or long-term services and support.3
Discharge planning
The hospital's process for planning care after the stay. Federal rules require it to focus on the patient's goals and preferences and to include the patient and caregivers as active partners.4
Durable medical equipment (DME)
Equipment that can withstand repeated use, is used for a medical reason, is typically only useful to someone who is sick or injured, is used in the home, and is expected to last at least three years.5
Home care (non-medical)
Private aides who help a person at home with activities of daily living. In California, Home Care Organizations must be licensed, and a public registry shows whether an aide is registered or still an applicant; registration requires a criminal background check.6
Home health
Part-time or intermittent skilled care at home, such as nursing or therapy, ordered by a doctor or other allowed provider and given by a home health agency.7
Homebound
For Medicare home health: leaving home is not recommended because of the person's condition, or they need help to leave, and they are normally unable to leave home without a lot of effort.7
Hospice
Comfort-focused care for a person whose doctors certify a life expectancy of six months or less, and who chooses comfort care instead of treatment to cure the illness.8
IHSS (In-Home Supportive Services)
A California program that provides in-home help to eligible aged, blind and disabled people as an alternative to care outside the home. It requires a Medi-Cal eligibility determination.18
Important Message from Medicare
A notice of a hospital patient's rights, which Medicare patients should receive within two days of admission and before discharge. It explains how to ask for a fast appeal.12
Inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF)
A facility or hospital unit that provides an intensive rehabilitation therapy program with physician supervision and coordinated care. Also called acute rehab or a rehabilitation hospital.10
MOON (Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice)
A notice hospitals must give to patients who receive outpatient observation services for more than 24 hours.11
Notice of Medicare Non-Coverage
A notice patients should get at least two days before covered skilled nursing, home health or hospice services end. The patient may have the right to a fast appeal.12
Observation status
Hospital outpatient services given while the doctor decides whether to admit the patient or discharge them, even if the patient stays overnight in a hospital bed.11
Palliative care
Specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. It can be given along with treatment meant to cure, at any age and any stage of the illness.13
RCFE (Residential Care Facility for the Elderly)
California's license for assisted living and board and care homes: housing for people 60 and over with 24-hour non-medical care and supervision.14
Respite care
Short-term care that gives a family caregiver a rest.8
Skilled care
Care that needs licensed professionals, such as nurses or therapists. Medicare's examples include physical therapy, changing sterile dressings, and intravenous injections given by a registered nurse or doctor.2, 3
Skilled nursing facility (SNF)
A licensed health facility for people whose main need is skilled nursing care over an extended period.15
Terminally ill
Under federal hospice rules, a medical prognosis of a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness runs its normal course.9

Sources

Official government pages, each read on October 2, 2026. Links open in a new tab. Prime Care Link is not affiliated with these agencies.

  1. 1.California Department of Insurance — Long Term Care Insurance
  2. 2.Medicare.gov — Medicare Coverage of Skilled Nursing Facility Care (CMS Product No. 10153, August 2025)
  3. 3.Medicare.gov — Nursing home care
  4. 4.Code of Federal Regulations — 42 CFR 482.43, Discharge planning
  5. 5.Medicare.gov — Durable medical equipment (DME) coverage
  6. 6.California Department of Social Services — Home Care Services
  7. 7.Medicare.gov — Home health services
  8. 8.Medicare.gov — Hospice care
  9. 9.Code of Federal Regulations — 42 CFR 418.3, Hospice definitions
  10. 10.Medicare.gov — Inpatient rehabilitation care
  11. 11.Medicare.gov — Inpatient or outpatient hospital status affects your costs
  12. 12.Medicare.gov — Fast appeals
  13. 13.Department of Health Care Services — Palliative Care Policies
  14. 14.California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing — Facility Types, by Program
  15. 15.California Department of Public Health — Skilled Nursing Facility Initial Application Packet
  16. 16.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — BFCC-QIO contact directory (California)
  17. 17.Department of Health Care Services — Community-Based Adult Services
  18. 18.California Department of Social Services — In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program

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