40 Must-Know Statistics About Long-Term Care

Although Christine Benz does not identify her specific sources of the statistics below in her Morningstar article, Morningstar is typically a very reliable source of information.

• 37 million: Number of Americans age 65 or older in 2005.
• 81 million: Expected number of Americans age 65 or older in 2050.
• 9 million: The number of Americans over age 65 who need long-term care in 2012.
• 12 million: The number of Americans expected to need long-term care in 2020.
• 40%: The percentage of the older population with long-term care needs who are poor or near-poor (income below 150% of the federal poverty level).
• 78%: Percentage of the elderly in need of long-term care who receive that care from family members and friends.
• 34 million: Number of caregivers who provide care to someone age 50 or over.
• $113,640: The maximum amount of assets a healthy spouse can retain for the other spouse to be eligible for long-term care benefits provided by Medicaid.
• 49%: Percentage of nursing home costs covered by Medicaid, 2002.
• 25%: Percentage of nursing home costs paid out of pocket, 2002.
• 7.5%: Percentage of nursing home costs covered by private insurance, 2002.
• 79: Average age upon admittance to a nursing home.
• 40%: The percentage of individuals who reach age 65 who will enter a nursing home during their lifetimes.
• 892 days (2.44 years): Average length of stay for current nursing-home residents, 1999.
• 272 days (8.94 months): Average length of stay for discharged nursing-home residents, 1999.
• 38%: Percentage of nursing home patients who will eventually be discharged to go home or to another setting.
• 10%: The percentage of people who enter a nursing home who will stay there five or more years.
• 65%: The percentage of people who entered a nursing home who died within one year of admission.
• Five months: The typical length of nursing-home stay for patients who eventually died in the nursing home.
• 25%: The percentage of deaths in the U.S. that occurred in nursing homes, 2010.
• 40%: The expected percentage of deaths in the U.S. occurring in nursing homes by 2020.
• 68%: The probability that an individual over age 65 will become cognitively impaired or unable to complete at least two "activities of daily living"--including dressing, bathing, or eating--over his or her lifetime.
• 42%: The percentage of individuals in nursing homes who are experiencing some form of dementia.
• 33%: The percentage of individuals in nursing homes who are suffering from some form of depression.
• 71%: Percentage of patients with advanced dementia who died within six months of admission to a nursing home.
• $73,000: Median annual rate, nursing-home care in U.S.
• 3.63%: Increase in median annual nursing-home costs since 2011.
• 4.5%: Annualized increase in median annual nursing home costs, 2008-2012.
• $162,425: Annual cost of nursing home care, Manhattan, N.Y.
• $60,773: Annual cost of nursing home care, Des Moines, Iowa.
• $86,140: Annual cost of nursing home care, Tampa, Fla.
• $41,000: Average annual base rate for residence in assisted living facility, 2012.
• $20: Average hourly rate for licensed, non-Medicare-certified home health aide.
• 7 to 9 million: Estimated number of U.S. residents who had private long-term care insurance, 2010.
• 59: Age of typical purchaser of long-term care insurance, 2010.
• 79%: Percentage of long-term care insurance purchasers with more than $100,000 in liquid assets.
• 44%: Percentage of population age 50 or older with more than $100,000 in liquid assets.
• $1,831: Average annual premium for long-term care policy purchased by person age 55 or younger, at coverage start date. (Policy provides a daily benefit of $150, four to five years of coverage in home and institutional settings with a 90-day waiting period, and 5% automatic compound inflation protection.)
• $3,421: Average annual premium for same policy purchased by an individual age 70-74.
• 9%: Percentage of long-term care insurance purchasers who let their policies lapse within the first year of purchase.