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The Latest LTC Statistics – 2021 Update

January 18, 2021 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Christine Benz updates her “Must-Know Statistics About Long-Term Care” report every year and the newest LTC information is now available.  She is a Personal Finance Director at Morningstar and these annual reports are packed with invaluable long term care statistics. We’re so grateful to her for this!

No stranger to the value of long term care, Benz openly shares about her obsession (her words!). Both of her parents required it later in their lives. Even though her parents had the funds to pay for their LTC, “… it was still a terribly hard process for them, my siblings, and me.”

Ms. Benz’s statistics cover a broad spectrum. If you click on the link to the report, you’ll find that each statistic is linked to the underlying research.

Some Interesting Long Term Care Statistics

How long will we actually use our long term care coverage?

  • Women will need more LTC than men.
  • 48% of us will likely need LTC for less than a year.
  • 21% of us will likely need LTC for 2-5 years.
  • 13% of will will need LTC for more than 5 years.

She shows us who and at what age people will need LTC, and how long they’ll need LTC coverage. Women will need more LTC than men. Although 48% of us will need LTC for less than a year, 21% of us will need LTC for 2 – 5 years and 13% of us will need LTC for more than five years.

The Dementia Factor

  • 38% of Americans over the age of 85 have Alzheimer’s disease.
  • 64% of those afflicted are women.
  • From 2000 – 2017, Alzheimer’s-related deaths rose by 145% (deaths from heart disease decreased by 9% over the same period).

The Costs of Long Term Care

  • LTC costs rose dramatically between 2000 and 2015. They’re now more than $208 billion/year.
  • 51% of LTC costs were paid by Medicaid
  • The estimated lifetime cost of caring for a dementia patient is $350,174.
  • The median annual cost of living in a nursing home is $102,200 (depending on geographic location and facility amenities offered).

Statistics on the Unpaid Caregiver

  • 34.2 million people provided unpaid care to someone 50 years or older during the past 12 months.
  • Over 75% of these unpaid caregivers are women.
  • The average age of these unpaid caregivers is 49.2, while 34% are 65 or older.
  • 70% of caregivers experience work-related challenges due to their caregiving responsibilities.
  • If they are able to maintain their paying jobs, they report spending an additional 34.7 hours each week providing unpaid care.

Maintaining Your Independence

In light of the ever-increasing costs of long term care along with the increasing age of the U.S. population, the ability to afford effective medical care is more important than ever. Instead of relying on family or friends, consider the possibility of hiring trained professionals for your care. You can move into a safe, comfortable environment or receive regular visits in your own home.

Click here to receive a free, no-obligation quote for your own LTCi coverage. It’s a great time to learn what options are available to you in the future with just a little planning today.

FILED UNDER: UNCATEGORIZEDTAGGED WITH: ALZHEIMERS DISEASE, CHRISTINE BENZ, FAMILIAL CAREGIVERS, LTC CLAIMS, LTC COSTS, LTC INSURANCE, LTC STATISTICS, MEDICAID, MORNINGSTAR, UNPAID CAREGIVERS

Filed Under: Helpful Information About LTC, I'll Just Self-Insure, Information About LTC Tagged With: Christine Benz, Morningstar

The Latest Long Term Care Statistics – 2019 Update

December 23, 2019 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Christine Benz updates her “Must-Know Statistics About Long-Term Care” report every year and the newest LTC information is now available.  She is a Personal Finance Director at Morningstar and these annual reports are packed with invaluable long term care statistics. We’re so grateful to her for this!

No stranger to the value of long term care, Benz openly shares about her obsession (her words!). Both of her parents required it later in their lives. Even though her parents had the funds to pay for their LTC, “… it was still a terribly hard process for them, my siblings, and me.”

Ms. Benz’s statistics cover a broad spectrum. If you click on the link to the report, you’ll find that each statistic is linked to the underlying research.

Some Interesting Long Term Care Statistics

How long will we actually use our long term care coverage?

  • Women will need more LTC than men.
  • 48% of us will likely need LTC for less than a year.
  • 21% of us will likely need LTC for 2-5 years.
  • 13% of will will need LTC for more than 5 years.

She shows us who and at what age people will need LTC, and how long they’ll need LTC coverage. Women will need more LTC than men. Although 48% of us will need LTC for less than a year, 21% of us will need LTC for 2 – 5 years and 13% of us will need LTC for more than five years.

The Dementia Factor

  • 38% of Americans over the age of 85 have Alzheimer’s disease.
  • 64% of those afflicted are women.
  • From 2000 – 2017, Alzheimer’s-related deaths rose by 145% (deaths from heart disease decreased by 9% over the same period).

The Costs of Long Term Care

  • LTC costs rose dramatically between 2000 and 2015. They’re now more than $208 billion/year.
  • 51% of LTC costs were paid by Medicaid
  • The estimated lifetime cost of caring for a dementia patient is $350,174.
  • The median annual cost of living in a nursing home is $102,200 (depending on geographic location and facility amenities offered).

Statistics on the Unpaid Caregiver

  • 34.2 million people provided unpaid care to someone 50 years or older during the past 12 months.
  • Over 75% of these unpaid caregivers are women.
  • The average age of these unpaid caregivers is 49.2, while 34% are 65 or older.
  • 70% of caregivers experience work-related challenges due to their caregiving responsibilities.
  • If they are able to maintain their paying jobs, they report spending an additional 34.7 hours each week providing unpaid care.

Maintaining Your Independence

In light of the ever-increasing costs of long term care along with the increasing age of the U.S. population, the ability to afford effective medical care is more important than ever. Instead of relying on family or friends, consider the possibility of hiring trained professionals for your care. You can move into a safe, comfortable environment or receive regular visits in your own home.

Click here to receive a free, no-obligation quote for your own LTCi coverage. It’s a great time to learn what options are available to you in the future with just a little planning today.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Alzheimers Disease, Christine Benz, familial caregivers, LTC Claims, LTC costs, LTC Insurance, LTC Statistics, Medicaid, Morningstar, unpaid caregivers

Using Your Long Term Care Insurance In Your 60s (or Younger!)

August 26, 2019 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

TLCI Woman on crutchesWhen you think of Long Term Care Insurance (LTCi), you’re probably thinking about planning for medical expenses and care for your later years. However, there are plenty of adults under 65 who are already using their LTCi policy for ongoing care.

Imagine thinking you’ve got decades before you need to start drawing on your LTCi when suddenly, the unexpected event happens. The catastrophic accident you didn’t see coming. The diagnosis that your physical injury is permanent and you will require full-time care for the rest of your life.

Few adults under 65 are prepared for this possibility.

We have a friend who had a fall at his home which resulted in severe spinal injury. He is now quadriplegic. He was in his mid-50s at the time of the accident.

While his health insurance paid for the immediate expenses including the surgeries and rehabilitation, it did not cover the ongoing care necessary for his continued recover. His original physical therapy required intensive sessions 5 days each week and he was making remarkable progress under this program. Unfortunately, his insurance company declined continuing coverage and he was discharged.

Needing Long Term Care Under 65

In 2018, the global financial services company Morningstar reported that 45% of adults requiring long term care are under 65 years old. In fact, 8% of people between the ages of 40 – 50 will have a disability that requires long term care.

Reasons for early long term care include:

  • Psychiatric or neurologic illness
  • Developmental disabilities
  • Traumatic physical injury, like brain or spinal cord damage

The AMDA (American Medical Directors Association) has even published a guidebook, “The Younger Adult in the Long Term Care Setting” to help navigate the options available. They recognize that the needs of this particular group are quite different from those over 65.

For starters, how does one prepare for living the next 30 – 60 years of their life in a nursing home facility?

That manual is available to members of the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care (PALTC).

Relying on Tea Leaves?

None of us knows how our future plays out. That’s why we purchase health insurance and auto insurance. The younger residents now living in nursing homes didn’t plan for this scenario. Those who have long term care insurance have better options and access to a higher quality of life and medical care.

Make plans to protect your future self. Click here to receive your free, no-obligation quote for your own LTCi policy.

Filed Under: Elephant in the Room, Helpful Information About LTC, I'll Just Self-Insure Tagged With: Long Term Care insurance, long-term care, LTC, LTCi, Morningstar, spinal injuries

75 Facts About LTC Insurance

November 17, 2017 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Middle age couple looking at a laptop.Morningstar reporter Christine Benz has a profound understanding of the need for long term care (LTC) planning. In her August 2017 column she lists 75 solid facts about LTC insurance and the amount of care you might need. She acknowledges that it’s not a popular subject; there seem to be more questions than answers.

Facts About LTC Insurance

In an effort to provide more answers, Benz provides “the numbers”. For example:

6.3 million — the number of Americans who need long term care due to their inability to carry out simple, everyday tasks.

$30 billion — the amount spent on long term care in the U.S. in 1980.

$225 billion — the amount spent on long term care in the U.S. in 2015.

$217,820 — estimated end-of-life costs in the patient’s last 5 years of life, without dementia.

37 billion hours — the annual amount of long term care provided by family & friends in 2013.

70% — percentage of unpaid caregivers who suffer in their jobs due to their caregiving duties.

You can read the full list in the article.

NOTE: When you click through to Benz’s article, you’ll see that each of these numbers is linked to a reliable report or study.

Now that you know…

The decision to prepare for the uncertainty that is our future is a big one. It is my hope that the facts provided in this article help guide you to making a choice to protect you and your family. The need for future protection is real. Ignoring the facts only increases your risk, with huge, sometimes catastrophic consequences. This can affect your finances, your quality of care, your end-of-life comfort and the relationships among your surviving family members.

People do not want to admit that after a lifetime of independence, the last years of their lives could be spent needing help with everyday tasks. For the nearly 30 years of my career, none of peoples’ excuses to avoid a conversation about LTC planning have changed.

If you already own LTC insurance, kudos to you! This article will give you well-deserved peace of mind. If you have not already planned for your LTC, Ms. Benz and I hope you will take the facts to heart, and make decisive LTC plans, now!

To receive your own customized quote for Long Term Care Insurance, click here.

Filed Under: Denial, Helpful Information About LTC, Information About LTC Tagged With: LCTI, LTCi facts, Morningstar, Statistics

40 Must Know Statistics About Long-Term Care

August 17, 2015 by Honey Leveen 2 Comments

40 ReasonsThis August 9, 2015 article from Morningstar titled “40 Must Know Statistics About Long-Term Care” is powerful! I recommend this concise article for people willing and unwilling to start conversations about responsible long-term care (LTC) planning. I recommend it for those who have already planned for their LTC. In other words, I recommend it for practically everyone!

Here are just a few facts from the article:

“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.

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.

Filed Under: Elephant in the Room, Helpful Information About LTC, I'll Just Self-Insure, Information About LTC Tagged With: Christine Benz, Honey Leveen, Long Term Care insurance, LTCi, Morningstar, www.honeyleveen.com

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Honey Leveen, LUTCF, CLTC, LTCP
“The Queen, by Self-Proclamation, of Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi)”
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Phone: 713-988-4671
Fax: 281-829-7177

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

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