Final answer:
Private pay in long-term care refers to out-of-pocket payment by individual residents or their families, not covered by government programs like Medicare or Medicaid or by insurance providers.
Step-by-step explanation:
The phrase "private pay" in the long-term care setting denotes payment by individual residents or their families. This means that instead of government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, or third-party insurance providers covering the costs, the financial responsibility for long-term care falls directly on the patient or their family members. Unlike Medicare which provides health insurance to individuals over the age of 65, and Medicaid that offers health care to those with low incomes, private pay requires out-of-pocket payment without financial assistance from government-funded programs.