Funding and insurance
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Health Policy Tracking Service issue brief
- Author(s):
- Seiler, Louise W., author
- Contributor(s):
- Thomson Reuters, issuing body.
- Publication:
- [Toronto, Ontario] : Thomson Reuters, 19-December-2022
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Federal Government Insurance Coverage -- legislation & jurisprudence Insurance, Long-Term Care -- economics Long-Term Care -- economics Long-Term Care -- legislation & jurisprudence State Government COVID-19 Medicaid -- economics Medicare -- economics Nursing Homes -- economics Prisoners Veterans United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Long-term care services include a broad range of services and supports that meet both the medical and non-medical needs of people with a chronic illness or disability, over an extended period of time. Non-medical, personal care comprises the most common type of long-term care, to provide help with everyday activities, also called ‘activities of daily living” (ADLs), including bathing, dressing, grooming, using the toilet, eating, moving around, and transferring to or from a bed or chair. [FN2] The duration and level of long-term care will vary from person to person and often change over time. The Administration for Community Living (part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)) provides statistics ('on average') to be considered. Someone turning age 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care services and supports in their remaining years. Women need care longer (3.7 years) than men (2.2 years). One-third of today's 65-year-olds may never need long-term care support, but 20 percent will need it for longer than 5 years. Overall, more people are using long-term care services at home, and for longer, than in facilities, on average receiving care at home for two years but for one year in facilities. [FN3] Long-term care services can be provided in a variety of settings, both institutional and home- or community-based. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reports that in 2016, over 8.5 million people in the United States received care provided by 4,600 adult day services centers, 12,200 home health agencies, 4,300 hospices, 15,600 nursing homes, and 28,900 assisted living and similar residential care communities. Further, NCHS found that in 2016 there were 286,300 participants enrolled in adult day services centers, 1,347,600 residents in nursing homes, and 811,500 residents in residential care communities. In 2015, about 4,455,700 patients were discharged from home health agencies, and 1,426,000 patients received services from hospices. [FN4] The proposition of getting long-term care is becoming more costly every year, according to the 2021 Genworth Cost of Care Survey, [FN5] dated January 31, 2022. Genworth has conducted the survey annually since 2004. The most recent report looks at the increasing cost trends that have occurred between 2020 and 2021. Over that time, care settings have seen increases in costs ranging from 1.96% for a semi-private room in a nursing home to 12.5% for home health care. Annual national median costs broken down by category, and total percentage increase between 2020 and 2021 are as follows: (1) Assisted living facilities: $4,500 per month, up 4.65%; (2) Nursing home annual rates: private room, $108,405; semi-private room, $94,900, up 1.96% and 2.41%, respectively; (3) Home health aide: $27.00/hour, up 12.50%; (4) Homemaker services: $26.00, up 10.64%; and (5) Adult day services, $78/day, up 5.41%. Why are costs rising? The report finds the core driver of cost increases to be supply and demand. Every day 10,000 baby boomers turn 65, according to the 2020 census. [FN7] Seven out of ten of them will require long-term care services at some point. Further, the level of care needed by this rapidly aging population has increased over the years. The high turnover rate and insufficient supply of professionals to meet the growing demand amplifies the growing need for care providers as workers weigh the risks of COVID-19 and opportunities in other fields of work. The costs of long-term services and supports (LTSS) have historically been covered by Medicaid, private insurance, personal savings, and direct unpaid care provided by friends and family members. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research has conducted annual surveys since 2013 to investigate experiences and attitudes regarding long-term care. The surveys have revealed that a majority of American adults hold a number of misconceptions about the extent of the long-term care services that they are likely to need in the future, and the cost of those services. A majority of Americans 40 and older are unsure how they'll pay for long-term care, according to an AP-NORC Center survey.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (59 pages)).
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918645959806676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918645959806676