Home care is often the most affordable long-term care option because it allows people to stay in their own homes while receiving the necessary assistance. This type of care may include help with daily activities, such as bathing, dressing, preparing meals, and administering medications. Care can be provided by family members, part-time caregivers, or professional home health care assistants and is generally more flexible and better suited to the individual's needs. The independent source for health policy research, surveys and news. KFF policy research provides data and analysis on a wide range of policy issues and public programs.
KFF designs, conducts and analyzes original public opinion research and surveys about Americans' attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with the health care system to help amplify the public's voice in major national debates. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism on health issues and is one of the organization's main operating programs. Millions of adults in the United States receive some form of support and long-term care services, which encompass a wide range of personal care assistance that people may need when they have difficulty performing daily tasks due to age, illness, or a disability. These supports include help with activities of daily living, such as eating, bathing, and dressing, as well as with other activities, such as preparing meals and administering medications.
These services and supports can be provided in facilities such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities, or in individual homes or other community settings. These services and supports are also often provided by family and friends without compensation. In the United States, less than half of adults say they have ever had a serious conversation with a loved one about who will care for them if they need help doing so (43%) or how they will pay for medical care and other types of support if they become seriously ill (39%).Adults age 65 and older are more likely to have had these conversations, and about half say they have had a serious conversation with a loved one about caring (52%) and paying for their care if they become very sick (48%). However, that means that about half of adults in this age range say they haven't had these conversations.
Among the many issues that older adults may worry about when they retire, being able to afford long-term care is particularly likely to create feelings of anxiety, rather than security. At least six out of ten adults aged 50 and over say they feel “mostly” or somewhat anxious to be able to afford the expenses of a nursing home or assisted living facility (66%) or to pay nurses or aides to help them with daily activities (62%) if they need them. More than half also say they are anxious about the amount of savings they have for retirement (55%) and about being able to afford important and unexpected medical expenses during retirement (55%). On the other hand, most adults aged 50 and over say they feel “largely” secure with regard to their physical health (55%) and their ability to afford housing in retirement (60%), although approximately four out of ten say they are also concerned about these aspects.
Among people aged 65 and over, three-quarters (77%) of whom say they are already retired, the majority say they feel at least “somewhat secure” in most aspects of retirement that were asked about in the survey, although nearly six out of ten (57%) say they feel at least “a little worried” about paying for the cost of a nursing home or assisted living facility and half say they are anxious to be able to pay nurses or aides if they need them. Among people between the ages of 50 and 64, more than seven in ten feel anxious about being able to afford residential care (73%) and the care of paid nurses or aides (72%) during retirement, and nearly as many are anxious to pay for unexpected medical expenses (69%).and their retirement savings (68%). There is a lot of confusion among the public about how long-term care costs are paid for different types of people. For example, while approximately half of adults (52%) correctly answer that Medicaid is the primary source of health insurance for low-income people who need long-term nursing or home care, four out of ten (41%) mistakenly think that Medicare is the primary source of this coverage.
While people age 65 and older (most of whom are covered by Medicare) are slightly more aware than their younger counterparts, even among this group, 29% incorrectly believe that Medicare provides this coverage. Approximately one in five adults (18%) say that private health insurance would be the main source of payment if they or a member of their family needed care in a nursing home, and another in six say that it would depend on personal income or savings (12%) or on financial assistance from family members (4%). In fact, nearly three out of ten adults (28%) simply aren't sure how they would pay the bill for long-term care in a nursing home if that need ever arose. Despite confusion about how long-term care is paid for, nearly nine out of ten adults (87%) say they think that the cost of long-term care causes serious financial hardship for many or most people who need long-term care. Nearly half of adults in the U.S.
UU. This includes approximately one in four (27%) who have personally resided or had a loved one who resided in a nursing home or assisted living facility, three out of ten (30%) who have personally received or had a loved one who has received ongoing support from a nurse or paid assistant for their daily activities, and nearly four out of ten (38%) who have personally received or have a loved one that support from a friend or family member. In total, 38% say that they or a loved one received paid support for long-term care at a facility or in their home, including 4% who say they received that support personally and 36% who say that a loved one did (there is some overlap in these numbers, since some people say that both they and a loved one used paid services). Nearly one in five (18%) say they have personally cared for a loved one in the past two years. Many adults report having difficulty finding and affording long-term care, especially when it comes to residential facilities.
Among people who personally stayed in a long-term care facility or knew enough about a loved one's experience at that facility to answer questions about their living conditions, care and support, approximately six out of ten (62%) say it was “somewhat difficult” or “very difficult” to find a facility that would meet their needs or those of their loved ones, and the same proportion report that it was difficult to afford such care, including a quarter (26%) who say it was “very difficult”. In addition, nearly half (45%) say that, after they or their loved ones moved to a long-term care facility, they were faced with unexpected costs for things they thought were included, but that the center added them as additional charges. Among people who personally or had a loved one who received help from paid nurses or assistants to carry out their daily activities, approximately half (51%) say that the process of seeking that help was difficult for them, and a similar proportion (50%) say they found it difficult to afford this type of support. 49% say they found it easy to find and afford the care provided by paid aides.
Many adults aren't satisfied with the cost of long-term care, especially when it comes to residential facilities, but most are at least somewhat satisfied with the quality of care they or their loved ones received. Among people with personal experience or sufficient knowledge of the time a loved one spent in a long-term care facility, approximately half (51%) say they are “somewhat dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” with the cost of their residential long-term care facility or that of their loved one, while the other half (49%) say they are “very or “somewhat” satisfied. Among people with personal experience or knowledge of caring for a loved one by paid nurses or aides, the majority (63%) say they are satisfied with the cost of such care, but a substantial proportion (37%) are dissatisfied. In addition to stating that they have difficulty affording long-term care and support services, many of the people who contribute financially to their own care or to that of a family member claim to have suffered economic consequences as a result of it.
Among people who say they have financially contributed to their own long-term care or that of another person or who have cared for a loved one7, more than half (56%) say they have reduced their spending on food, clothing or other basic household items as a result of providing or paying for care, and approximately four in ten (39%) say they have exhausted all or most of their savings. Approximately three out of ten say they have incurred some type of debt (34%), have had problems paying other bills, such as rent or utilities (33%), or have delayed their own or someone else's retirement (29%) as a result of providing or paying for long-term care or support services, while a very small proportion (4%) claim to file for personal bankruptcy. In another question addressed to people who report that they provide care or contribute financially to their own or other people's long-term care, one-third (33%, or 8% of all adults) say they have had financial problems directly as a result of paying for or providing these services. When asked to describe the nature of these challenges, respondents detailed a variety of circumstances that precipitated the obligation to provide long-term care, such as applying for a license to leave their own careers or resorting to loans or family generosity to compensate for the financial deficit. The margin of sampling error, including the design effect for the entire sample, is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The number of respondents and the sampling error margins of the key subgroups are shown in the following table. For results based on other subgroups, the margin of sampling error may be larger. Sample sizes and sampling error margins for other subgroups are available on request. Sampling error is just one of many potential sources of error, and there may be other errors not measured in this or any other public opinion survey.
KFF public opinion research and polls is a founding member of the Transparency Initiative of the American Association for Public Opinion Research. Join our email list to receive regular updates based on your personal preferences. Confusion about how long-term care is funded is also evident when adults are asked to think about their potential long-term care needs or those of a loved one. The data used in long-term care cost calculations were drawn from the Genworth Cost of Care Survey and the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program Cost of Care Survey. Regardless of when you decide to buy a long-term care insurance policy, it can be an effective way to lower the cost of your care.
Take a moment to consider your potential care needs and how long-term care policies can help alleviate the rising costs of long-term care. On average, these five states that are the most expensive in terms of long-term care have an average annual cost that is 55% more expensive than the national average. We've been conducting this survey for more than 20 years to help provide more families with the information they need to discuss and plan for their long-term care needs. In most cases, out-of-pocket expenses for caring for the elderly in a nursing home are tax-deductible based on detailed medical expenses. The 5 most expensive and least expensive states for health care were calculated by taking the average of the average costs.
Veterans with military-related injuries or disabilities can receive full coverage from the Department of Veterans Affairs for long-term care services at specific locations or through certain providers approved by the department. For example, nearly half (49%) of college-educated older adults say they have sought information about problems related to aging and long-term care, compared to three out of ten older adults without a college degree.
