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Long Term Health - A Few Quick Facts
General Information
- Medicare does not address the long term care and nursing home needs of
our nation's elderly. Medicare covers only those nursing facility services
rendered to help a resident recover from an acute illness or injury. In
most cases, Medicare at a maximum provides for the first 100 days of care
and only if certain conditions are met.
- Two out of every three nursing home residents rely on Medicaid to pay
for their care.
- In order to qualify for Medicaid, seniors are forced to "spend down"
their assets to less than $2,000 in most states to get the long term care
they need.
- More than eight of every ten Americans believe it is wrong for seniors
to impoverish themselves to go on a government program for nursing home
care.
The Demographic Dilemma
- Every eight seconds in America, a baby boomer turns fifty.
- Americans aged 85 and older are the fastest growing segment of
population and the heaviest users of long term health care services. From
1960-1999, the 85 and older age group increased by more than 274 percent.
Longevity is expected to rise for all ages.
- Two out of five Americans will need long term care at some point in
their lives.
- Last year, the average cost of stay in a nursing facility was $41,000
per year. Only one in four Americans can afford private nursing home care
for one year, yet the average length of stay for a nursing facility
resident is 2.3 years.
Long Term Care Affects Women and Families
- Family members are often the primary care-givers of long term health
care. Increasingly, women—the traditional family care-giver—are working
outside the home. A national study found that 80 percent of working
caregivers reported emotional strain, 50 percent reported financial
strain, while 40 percent missed work on a regular basis due to the health
needs of an elderly loved one.
- Three out of four nursing facility residents are women.
» More - Senior Population Facts & Statistics
» Back to Long
Term Care Issues with Jodee Meddy
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Jodee
Meddy, RN, MS, LNHA, Co-founder of SeniorSite.com is a nationally
acclaimed Licensed Nursing Home Administrator, a Registered Nurse and an
expert on Long Term/ Extended Care issues and Nursing Homes. If you have any Long Term Care questions or concerns,
