Monday
Aug132012
About Caregiving and Long-Term Care:
- In 2013, 15.5 million family caregivers in the U.S. provided an estimated 17.7 billion hours of unpaid care for a family member or friend with dementia, valued at more than $220 billion.
- A third of family caregivers report feeling depressed, and 60% feel extreme stress.
- More than 60% of dementia caregivers are women, and women are much more likely than men to provide "hands on" personal care (men are more likely to arrange or supervise such care).
- At least 70% of people over age 65 need chronic long-term care services that are not covered by Medicare (or by Medicaid until after they’ve spent their savings and become impoverished)
- While 3 out of 10 elders will die quickly and never need long-term care, and 17% of elders will need assistance for only a year or less, more than 50% will need help for at least a year. One out of 5 elders will need assistance for 5 years or more. Women are twice as likely than men to need care for more than 5 years.
- Long-term care at home lasts an average of 3-5 years, assisted living care 2.5-3 years, and nursing home care 2.3 years. Twenty percent of people over age 65 will end up spending over $100,000 on long-term care costs, and 1 in 20 will spend more than $250,000.
- In 2011 the national average for dementia care in a semi-private nursing home room was $222 per day, or $81,030 a year; assisted living with dementia care averaged $152 per day, or $55,428 per year.
- Most private long-term care insurance will start paying benefits when the person needs assistance with 2-3 “activities of daily living” such as bathing, dressing, eating, or toileting, or if they have a cognitive impairment for which they need assistance or supervision to protect their health or safety.
- Less than 3% of Americans buy private long-term care insurance.
Monday, August 13, 2012 at 06:40PM