“Planning for Long-Term Care: A Survey of Midlife and Older Women”

“Planning for Long-Term Care: A Survey of Midlife and Older Women,” by Teresa A. Keenan, AARP

“Women in our national survey have a basic understanding of long-term care and its costs, but most seem ill-prepared to pay for their own care if they need it.  While more than eight in ten women believe that one year of care in a private room in a nursing home is more expensive than four years of college, when asked about specific examples of care (i.e., a private room in a nursing home, a one-bedroom unit in an assisted living facility, and a home health aide), their estimates of national average costs vary widely. Most believe the costs of long-term care will be covered by Medicare or by private long-term care insurance, but when asked about their own plans, about six in ten women said they have not planned for how they will pay for care if they need it.  And, many believe that their spouse or another family member will care for them but they do not seem to have accounted for the significant costs that their caregivers may incur in doing so.”

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

Most people read findings like these and conclude: “Oh my, we need to do a better job of educating the public about LTC risk and cost.” But think about it. Consumers have been barraged for decades with scary warnings about losing their life savings to LTC. They don’t believe it. And here’s the real problem. It isn’t true. Medicaid has paid the vast majority of catastrophic LTC costs for decades. And it does so while providing easy eligibility and letting recipients and their heirs preserve most wealth. Nothing meaningful improves until that situation changes. For the full diagnosis, prognosis and prescription, read the Paragon Health Institute’s “Long-Term Care: The Problem” and “Long-Term Care: The Solution” and watch this “virtual LTC event” featuring age wave visionary Ken Dychtwald and leading LTC researchers. To find vast new private funds for LTC, check out Medicaid’s $100+ Billion Leak.