Summary: Statistics on the size and scope of eldercare issues
The care needs of the elderly population are significant. As they age, people face numerous, overlapping problems related to isolation, failing health, and physical and mental limitations. The problems of the frail elderly are magnified when the elderly person lives alone, especially when they and their children are geographically separated. Elderly people with health or other physical or mental problems are often referred to as the "frail elderly" to distinguish them from those who are elderly but still healthy and independent. Many of the elderly have no one nearby who can provide assistance to them. One out of five have no living children. One-third of those with living children live more than 30 minutes away from their children. Many live alone.
Some quotes and articles which illustrate the scope of the problems:
A study by Montefiore Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and United Hospital Fund found the "vast but vulnerable base upon which our chronic care system rests" The study estimates unpaid caregiving for ailing adults costs $200 billion per year, and notes "The estimate dwarfs actual spending for home health care ($32 billion) and nursing home care ($83 billion) and is roughly equivalent to one-fifth of the nation's total annual health care costs." (Source: National Council on Aging)
"We've learned that while people usually prepare for career, retirement, and the generation that follows, they do not anticipate caring for a parent. Few realize the time involved, or the lifestyle changes they will encounter in caring for a parent. Instead, people tell themselves that "I'm sure Mom and Dad have that covered. They have insurance and then there's Medicare." Or we've heard, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." But when adult children suddenly have to cross that bridge, they look frantically for answers and options. (Source: National Council on Aging)
"More Americans worry about paying for long-term care than paying for retirement, according to a survey of 1,000 adults. The survey, released by the National Council on the Aging (NCOA) and John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co., also found that seven out of 10 Americans flunked a quiz about the basic facts of long-term care. In addition, 48 percent of respondents indicated they have done little or no long-term care planning. (Source: National Council on Aging)
27% of Baby Boomers think they are covered by long term care insurance, but very few actually carry this coverage. 80% do not know how long term care is paid for and 25% say they are unwilling to consider paying for any additional insurance to cover these costs, according to a report from the American Health Care Association .
Older adults are concerned about their security but someone else is worrying about them more: their adult children, according to a study released by The National Council on the Aging and SecurityLink from Ameritech, a division of Ameritech Corporation. " (Source: National Council on Aging)
Though more dramatic than most, the incident was one of many that play themselves out every day and illustrate the need for expanded adult day care and assisted living services, aging activists say. The Associated Press highlighted the issue in a nationwide story Dec. 22, noting that demand for the "guilt-free alternatives to nursing homes is growing rapidly." (Source: National Council on Aging)
Nearly 7 million Americans provide care or manage care for a relative or friend aged 55 or older who lives at least one hour away, according to a survey cosponsored by The National Council on the Aging (NCOA) and The Pew Charitable Trusts... Long-distance care is a large and growing concern to baby boomers. The average age of the caregivers interviewed was 46, and nearly half of them were boomers. The survey indicates that approximately 3.3 million boomers are providing long-distance care. We expect that the number of long-distance caregivers will more than double over the next 15 years as the baby boomers and their parents age. (Source: National Council on Aging)
The number of persons requiring formal care (mainly nursing home care) and informal care (mainly care at home) will rise sharply even if the share of persons at each age remains unchanged. Accordingly, there will be a large increase in the numbers participating in various entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Living alone presents an additional risk, and the risk mounts when the person living alone has no children or siblings. These characteristics are more common among those 85 years and over as compared with those under age 85. At ages 65 and over only 2 percent of the population have these characteristics in combination, but at ages 85 and over perhaps 6 percent have them. The outlook for the longevity and health of the elderly is not altogether clear. There will probably be a substantial increase in life expectancy, even at the older ages, but there are also likely to be large increases in the number of persons with poor health and disabilities, including Alzheimer's disease (and in persons requiring nursing home care and home care), if only because of the massive population increases projected to occur. (Source: Aging into the 21st Century)
Federal and state governments paid 41 percent of the costs of chronic care in 1987; private insurance paid 33 percent, and individuals paid 22 percent out-of-pocket...Nursing homes are a particularly costly segment of the chronic care continuum, a primary reason most reforms in the chronic care system include methods to help people remain independent and out of institutions for as long as possible. Recent data indicate that Americans pay 33 percent of the total costs of nursing home care out-of-pocket ($23 billion). The public sector pays an even greater share: Medicaid's 52 percent represented an expense of $36 billion. (Source: Chronic Care in America, A 21st Century Challenge)
GAO noted that: (1) spending for long-term care for the elderly totaled almost $91 billion in 1995, the most recent year for which expenditures from all sources were available; (2) almost 40 percent of these dollars were paid for by the elderly and their families and almost 60 percent by Medicaid and Medicare; (3) these amounts, however, do not include many hidden costs of long-term care, since an estimated two-thirds of the disabled elderly living in the community rely exclusively on their families and other unpaid sources for their care. (Source: General Accounting Office)
Statistics from Profile of Older Americans 1998:
The older population-persons 65 years or older-numbered 34.1 million in 1997. They represented 12.7% of the U.S. population, about one in every eight Americans
The older population itself is getting older. In 1997 the 65-74 age group (18.5 million) was eight times larger than in 1900, but the 75-84 group (11.7million) was 16 times larger and the 85+ group (3.9 million) was 31 times larger
Almost half of all older women in 1997 were widows (46%)
About 31% (9.9 million) of all noninstitutionalized older persons in 1997 lived alone
While a small number (1.4 million) and percentage (4%) of the 65+ population lived in nursing homes in 1995, the percentage increased dramatically with age, ranging from 1% for persons 65-74 years to 5% for persons 75-84 years and 15% for persons 85+
In 1994-95 more than half of the older population (52.5%) reported having at least one disability. One-third had a severe disability (ies). The percentages with disabilities increase sharply with age (Figure 6). Over 4.4 million (14%) had difficulty in carrying out activities of daily living (ADLs) and 6.5 million (21%) reported difficulties with instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). [ADLs include bathing, dressing, eating, and getting around the house. IADLs include preparing meals, shopping, managing money, using the telephone, doing housework, and taking medication].
Older people accounted for 40% of all hospital stays and 49% of all days of care in hospitals in 1995. The average length of a hospital stay was 7.1 days for older people, compared to only 5.4days for people under 65. The average length of stay for older people has decreased 5.0 days since 1964. Older persons averaged more contacts with doctors in 1995 than did persons under 65 (11.1 contacts vs. 5 contacts).