Are you likely to need long-term care?
You may never need long-term care. But statistics show that this year about seven million men and women over the age of 65 will need long-term care. By the year 2005, the number will increase to nine million. By the year 2020, 12 million older Americans will need long-term care. Most will be cared for at home; family members and friends are the sole caregivers for 70 percent of elderly people. But a study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicates that people age 65 face at least a 40 percent lifetime risk of entering a nursing home. About 10 percent will stay there five years or longer.
The American population is growing older, and the group over age 85 is now the fastest-growing segment of the population. The odds of entering a nursing home, and staying for longer periods, increase with age. In fact, statistics show that at any given time, 22 percent of those age 85 and older are in a nursing home. Because women generally outlive men by several years, they face a 50 percent greater likelihood than men of entering a nursing home after age 65.
While certainly older people are more likely to need long-term care, your need for long-term care can come at any age. In fact, the U.S. Government Accounting Office estimates that 40 percent of the 13 million people receiving long-term care services are between the ages of 18 and 64.