After analyzing the numbers, Lam discovered that the average age of people entering care centers is 84, and their admission is often preceded by months of serious disability and increased provision of care at home, usually by unpaid family members. Adults age 65 and older are at the highest risk of receiving long-term care because of chronic diseases that can be cognitive, physical, or both. Taking into account all care settings (with home care being the most prominent), the vast majority of long-term care insurance claims occur after a person turns 80. The average age at which people purchase Northwestern long-term care policies is 55. Long-term care can be provided at home or in assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and adult day health centers.
This means that you're generally more likely to qualify for long-term care insurance if you buy a policy when you're 50 rather than 60 or 70. However, data from the Center for Retirement Research suggests that people who reported being in excellent or good health at age 65 were less likely to need long-term care than those who were in poor health. Long-term care is defined as services provided to a person who has a chronic condition that is progressive in nature, which worsens over time and usually has no cure. For those who can afford it and are eligible for coverage, long-term care insurance is the best alternative to Medicaid. There are ways to manage excess income or assets and still qualify for long-term Medicaid care, as well as programs that provide care at home rather than in a nursing home. For example, this policy can help cover long-term care costs that may not be fully covered by a retirement account or HSA (which are often reserved for other expenses).
We classified respondents who reported that they were not participating in a particular IADL as having a limitation only if they said they were not doing that activity because of a health problem. Among users, nursing home care lasts 2.3 years on average, paid home care lasts 1.8 years, and residential care lasts 2.5 years. While these numbers do not reflect other types of long-term care, the need for home care, assisted living, or care provided by family members is likely to increase at a similar rate. Relatively long periods of disability and paid care are common among people of color, women, and people with limited income and wealth. However, the study includes short-term stays that usually include rehabilitative care after an acute episode, such as a hip fracture, and thus exaggerates the lifetime risk of receiving long-term care in a nursing home.
Because it involves the loss of independence, most people don't want to think about needing long-term care. When it comes to the possibility of needing long-term care in the future, the first thing many people consider is the impact on their family, friends and personal financial situation. The analysis considered only care in nursing homes that lasted at least 90 days because people with shorter stays were likely to enter a nursing home for rehabilitative care and may not need long-term care.
