“The Affordability of Long-Term Care and Support Services: Findings from a KFF Survey”

“The Affordability of Long-Term Care and Support Services: Findings from a KFF Survey,” by Liz Hamel and Alex Montero, Kaiser Family Foundation

“Millions of older adults in the U.S., as well as some younger people with disabilities, require assistance with activities of daily living that may be provided in residential facilities like nursing homes or assisted living facilities, or in their homes or other settings by paid or unpaid caregivers. It is estimated that 5.8 million people used paid long-term services and supports (LTSS) in 2020, while another 1.9 million used LTSS in institutional settings, according to CBO estimates1. Despite the prevalence of the need for such services as people age, a KFF survey, conducted in 2022 as part of a broader reporting project by KFF Health News and The New York Times, finds that most adults do not feel prepared to handle the costs of such care, and most older adults have not taken financial or practical steps to plan for care needs that might arise in the future.2 For more about LTSS financing, policy, and the populations who use these services, see KFF’s reports on Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) and Medicaid’s role in financing these services.”

 

LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform:

Another study shows Americans worry about LTC but do nothing. Big whoop! If I’ve seen one such study, I’ve seen a thousand. Not one of them asks or answers the question “Why?” I have. Read “Long-Term Care: The Problem” and “Long-Term Care: The Solution.”