The majority of adults say that it would be “impossible” or “very difficult” to pay for long-term care, according to the results of a survey by KFF, published last week.
The survey was conducted in May 2022.
Ninety percent of respondents said that the estimated $100,000 needed for one year at a nursing home is out of reach. Eighty-three percent said the estimated $60,000 for one year of assistance from a paid nurse or aide is too expensive.
“Among those ages 50-64, many of whom are on the cusp of retirement, just under three in ten (28%) say they have set aside money that could be used to pay for future living assistance expenses,” wrote Vice President Director of Public Opinion and Survey Research Liz Hamel and Survey Analyst, Public Opinion & Survey Research Alex Montero. “This share is higher among adults ages 65 and older (48%), but still half of adults in this age group say they have not put any money aside for this purpose.”
A common misunderstanding, according to KFF, is that Medicare will fully pay for long-term care. Twenty-three percent of respondents of all ages, and 45% of those aged 65 or more years, said that they assumed that Medicare would foot the bill for their own or a loved one’s time in a nursing home if they had a long-term illness or disability.
The survey report authors noted that long-term care insurance can be costly and that relatively few older adults are covered by such policies.
“When asked about the prospect of needing living assistance as they age, four in ten adults (43%) say they are ‘not too’ or ‘not at all confident’ that they would have the financial resources to pay for such care, while 37% say they feel ‘somewhat confident’ and a much smaller share – one in five – say they are ‘extremely’ or ‘very confident,’” according to the report.
Confidence in affording long-term care was highest among those with household incomes of less than $40,000, Hispanic respondents, and those aged 30 to 64. Among adults aged 65 or more years, 30% said they are not confident about being able to afford long-term care.
Approximately half of the adults who responded said that they have not broached the subject of possible long-term care needs with a loved one or talked about how those needs will be paid for. Adults aged 65 or more years were most likely to have had such a conversation, the survey found.
“Among various issues that might be concerns for older adults in retirement, being able to afford long-term care is particularly likely to elicit feelings of anxiety, rather than security,” Hamel and Monero said.
