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The average cost of spending a year in a U.S. assisted living facility has increased to $28,548, up 10% from the 2002 average, reports MetLife Inc., New York.

88% of residents of Assisted Living Facilities pay for their care out-of-pocket (Seniors' Housing and Care Journal, 2000)

About half of assisted living residents need help with two or more activities of daily living (The Assisted Living Industry, 1999)

Health Statistics show that the percentage of the population living in assisted nursing facilities increases dramatically with age. Estimates range from 1.1% for those 65-74 years to 4.5% for those 75-85 years and 19% for ages 85 and older (Fitch, "Long-term Care: An Industry in Transition," January 18, 2002)

Most of the growth in long-term care since 1985 has been in assisted living and home care ("Challenges for Long-term Care Insurance in a Rapidly Changing World," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, January 1999)

Between 1998 and 2000, the number of assisted living and board and care facilities increased from 24,572 to 32,886 nationally reflecting the trend towards community-based care as opposed to nursing homes.(State Assisted Living Policy: 2000 Mollica, R. National Academy for State Health Policy, Portland, ME)

Most assisted living facilities (ALFs) discharge residents whose cognitive impairments become moderate or severe or who need help with transfers (moving from a wheelchair to a bed). This limits the ability of these populations to find appropriate services outside of nursing homes or other institutions. (A National Study of Assisted Living for the Frail Elderly: Results of a National Survey of Facilities. Hawes, R.M. and Phillips, C.D. Myers Research Institute)

About half of all claimants and informal caregivers indicated that without private insurance, they would have to seek institutional alternatives - nursing home care or assisted living facilities.

The presence of insurance benefits has not significantly reduced the level of informal care received by claimants. Roughly two in three informal caregivers have not reduced the level of care that they provide, with half maintaining the same level of care. This finding suggests that for most informal caregivers, insurance financed formal care is not a perfect substitute for informal care.

Where formal care does substitute for informal care, the substitution is selective; that is, the formal care financed by insurance benefits may substitute for the care provided by adult children but not necessarily for the care provided by a spouse.

About two in three informal caregivers indicate that the presence of private insurance benefits has reduced their level of stress.

Private LTC coverage enables middle-to lower-income policyholders to access long-term care services without having to rely on Medicaid. In 1995, 68% of new private LTC purchasers had incomes below $35,000; these same purchasers had average assets valued at $63,000. Without the protection of LTCI, 13% of these individuals would be likely to "spend down" to Medicaid eligibility levels if they ever needed long-term care. Their private LTC coverage, however, would help them avoid Medicaid, thereby saving public expenditures.

(Cohen, Marc A., Ph.D & Weinrobe, Maurice, Ph.D Tax Deductibility of Long-Term Care Insurance Premiums 3/1/2000)

Recent estimates place the direct medical costs of arthritis at $15.2 billion per year, with total costs of medical care and lost wages exceeding $64 billion. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Facts About Arthritis, May 1997)

By the end of 2001, more than 1.3 million policies had been sold through more than 4,700 employers. (Long-Term Care Insurance in 2000-2001. HIAA, January 2003)

Sales of group long-term care insurance to new employees in 1999 rose 126 percent (LIMRA, 1999.) (Who Buys Long-Term Care Insurance In the Workplace? — A Study of Employer Long-Term Care insurance Plans, 2001. LifePlans, Inc. (Prepared for Health Insurance Association of America)

A recent study found that the number of Americans covered by employer-sponsored long-term care insurance plans increased by 19 percent in 2000. By year-end 2000, 3,800 employers offering plans covered more than 900,000 employees. (U.S. Group Long-Term Care Insurance - 2000 Sales and In Force Limra International. April, 2001)

Close to two in three caregivers (64%) are working, 52 percent full-time and 12 percent part-time; and 16 percent are retired. One in five (20%) say they are “not employed.” Table 3 shows the percentages of working caregivers by age and other key characteristics. (Family Caregiving in the U.S. Findings from a National Survey National Alliance for Caregiving/AARP. June, 1997)

Of those not currently employed (36% of caregivers), about one in three (35%) said they had even been employed while taking care of their care recipient. (Family Caregiving in the U.S. Findings from a National Survey National Alliance for Caregiving/AARP. June, 1997)

Cost to employers for productivity losses by employees with eldercare responsibilities is estimated to be as high as $29 billion a year ("Family Caregiving Entails a Heavy Financial Toll," Rueters, Dec. 1, 1999)

Over the next 10 years, the total number of employed caregivers in the United States is expected to increase to between 11 and 15.6 million Americans - roughly one in ten employed workers (Comparative Analysis of Caregiver Data for Caregivers to the Elderly)

As of June 1998, the employer-sponsored long-term care market has seen a 4% average annual growth rate - to about 80,000 policies cumulatively -with more than 2,000 employers offering LTC coverage to workers and/or retires (Study; Make Estates Repay Medicare, Best Review, November 1999)

On average, individuals providing care for a family member will lose $566,000 in wages, $25,000 in Social Security, and $67,000 in pension contributions (Focusing on Retirement Needs: The Period After Retirement, Journal of Financial Service Professionals, July 2000)

The aggregate cost of care giving in lost productivity to U.S. Business is $11.4 billion per year. If the additional caregiver activities such as health care, mental health services, leaves of absence and declined promotions are considered, the total cost to US business would exceed $29 billion per year (Understanding Our Older Customers: Approaches to Segmenting the Mature Market, Journal of Financial Professionals, November 1999)

Time off and disability programs costs averaged 15% of payroll according to the 2002 Survey of Employers' Time-Off and Disability Programs' by Mercer Resource Consulting and Marsh Inc.

More than 13,000 per year is lost on each employee who has caregiving responsibilities (The National Council on Aging, May 1997)

Significantly, one out of seven employees (13 percent) who took covered leave in the 18 months prior to a Department of Labor 2000 FMLA Survey cited eldercare as the primary reason.

Of the employee caregivers who made at least one formal adjustment to their work schedule, 22 % took leave of absence; 20% changed from full-time to part-time; 16% quit their job (MetLife Juggling Act, 1999)

Of the employee caregivers who reported that caregiving affected their ability to advance on the job, 29% passed up a promotion, training or assignment; 22% were unable to acquire new job skills (MetLife Juggling Act, 1999)

The overall cost of employee turnover related to eldercare has been estimated at $5 billion per year. For many employers, long-term care insurance with its care coordination benefit is a sensible move to increase productivity and reduce turnover cost (Fannie Mae; www.fanniemae.com/news/pressreleases/1289.html and the Joint Report of Fannie Mae and Business for Social Responsibility. March 2001)

Alzheimer's Disease will cost corporate America $61 billion - almost twice as much as thought in 1998 - according to a new study from the Alzheimer's Association (Sales Strategies magazine, 2003)

According to a report "Alzheimer's Disease; The Cost to US Business in 2002," the affliction will cost companies $36.5 billion this year for workers who take off time to care for Alzheimer's victims. That figure includes loss of productivity ($18 billion) and hiring temporary workers ($2 billion), among other costs.

In a survey of 945 major U.S. employers by Hewitt Associates, elder care programs have experienced steady growth over the past few years. Half of all employers offer some form of elder care assistance, with dependent care spending accounts (38%) and resource/referral programs (33%) being the most common. In 1993, 20% of companies surveyed offered elder care assistance, and in 1999 47% offered this assistance. (Work/Life Benefits Provided by Major U.S. Employers in 2001-2002. Hewitt Associates; May, 2002)

Arthritis and other rheumatic conditions are chronic and disabling, and affect an estimated 40 million Americans. Nearly 50% of persons 65 and over have arthritis. Arthritis limits the activity of over 7 million people and is second only to heart disease as a cause of work disability. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Facts About Arthritis, May 1997)

While many people equate the term “long-term care” with someone who lives in a nursing home or other institutional facility, almost 80% of the elderly and 41% of severely disabled individuals live at home or in community-based settings. (Aging Committee: Hearing Finding Summary. A Report presented by the Senate Special Committee on Aging. June 2002)

Most, but not all persons in need of long-term care are elderly. Approximately 53% are persons aged 65 and older (6.4 million); 44% are working-age adults aged 18 to 64 (5.3 million); and 3% are children under age 18 (400,000). (Long-Term Care: Medicaid’s Role and Challenges (publication #2172). The Henry J. Kaiser Foundation. November, 1999)

The risk of needing long-term care does, however, rise steeply with age. Among people age 65 or over, 14 percent need long-term care, in contrast to 1.4 percent of people under age 65. Among people age 85 and older, half need some long-term care. (“Who Needs Long-term Care?” Georgetown University Long-Term Care Financing Project Fact Sheet, May 2003)

Estimates show that the number of elderly persons alone who need long-term care assistance could grow by 35% over the next 20 years, and by 82% over the next 40 years. (Testimony Before Senate Committee on Aging. Carol V. O’Shaughnessy, Specialist in Social Legislation, Congressional Research Service. June 28, 2001)

In 1997, 52.6 million people (19.7% of the population) had some level of disability and 33.0 million (12.3% of the population) had a severe disability. (Americans with Disabilities: Household Economic Studies 1997. U.S. Census Bureau. February 2001)

At least 6.4 million people aged 65 or older need long-term care, with one in two over the age of 85 requiring such care. It is estimated that 6% of all persons aged 65 and over are living in a nursing home. After the age of 85, half of us will need help with the ordinary activities of daily living (ADLs). (Planning for Long-Term Care. United Seniors Health Council, Washington, D.C. McGraw-Hill 2002)

About 1 in 10 individuals over 65 and almost half of those over 85 will get Alzheimer’s disease. (Planning for Long-Term Care. United Seniors Health Council, Washington, D.C. McGraw-Hill 2002)

About 10.1 million individuals (3.8% of the population) needed personal assistance with one or more ADLs or IADLs. (Americans with Disabilities: Household Economic Studies 1997. U.S. Census Bureau. February 2001)

The likelihood of having a disability increased with age. Among those 45 to 54 years old, 22.6% had some form of disability, 13.9% had a severe disability and 3.6% needed personal assistance. (Americans with Disabilities: Household Economic Studies 1997. U.S. Census Bureau. February 2001)

For those 65 to 69 years old, the comparable estimates were 44.9%, 30.7%, and 8.1%. For the oldest age group shown, 80 years old and over, the estimates were 73.6%, 57.6%, and 34.9%. (Americans with Disabilities: Household Economic Studies 1997. U.S. Census Bureau. February 2001)

Among those 45 to 54 years old, the proportion with a disability was 24.2% for women and 20.9% for men; among those 55 to 64 years old, the rates were 37.2% for women and 34.0% for men. Overall, women made up the majority of the individuals with disabilities: 28.3 million women compared with 24.3 million men. (Americans with Disabilities: Household Economic Studies 1997. U.S. Census Bureau. February 2001)

About 1 in 5 Americans have some kind of disability and 1 in 10 have a severe disability. A person is considered to have a disability if he or she has difficulty performing certain functions (seeing, hearing, talking, walking, climbing stairs and lifting and carrying), or has difficulty performing activities of daily living, or has difficulty with certain social roles (doing school work for children, working at a job and around the house for adults). A person who is unable to perform one or more activities, or who uses an assistive device to get around, or who needs assistance from another person to perform basic activities is considered to have a severe disability. (Census Brief; Bureau of the Census. December 1997)

More than 7 of 10 people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) live at home. Almost 75% of the home care is provided by family and friends. The remainder is “paid” care costing an average of $12,500 per year. Families pay almost all of that out-of-pocket.
• Half of all nursing home residents suffer from AD or a related disorder.
• One in 10 persons over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 have AD. A small percentage of people as young as their 30’s and 40’s get the disease.
• A person with AD will live an average of eight years and as many as 20 years or more from the onset of symptoms.

(Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association, Inc. Chicago, IL 2002)

Nearly one out of every four households (23% or 22.4 million households) is involved in caregiving to persons aged 50 or over.

By the year 2007, the number of caregiving households in the U.S. for persons aged 50+ could reach 39 million.

5 million informal caregivers provide care for someone aged 50+ with dementia

(Family Caregiving in the U.S.: Findings from a National Survey
National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, June 1997)

Nearly 75 percent of people ages 18 to 64 receiving long-term care assistance in the community (i.e., outside of nursing homes) rely exclusively on unpaid caregivers; only 6 percent of the younger disabled rely exclusively on paid services. Another 138,000 persons ages 18 to 64 reside in nursing homes (Tilly et al. 2000). (Who Will Care for Us? – Addressing the Long-Term Care Workforce Crisis. Stone, R., with Wiener, J.. The Urban Institute and the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. October 2001)

25.8 million family caregivers provide personal assistance to adults (aged 18+) with a disability or chronic illness. (Arno, P.S., Levine, C., and Memmott, M.M. The Economic Value of Informal Caregiving Health Affairs, Vol. 18, No. 2, 1999)

Currently, about 20% of seniors between the ages of 65 and 75 have functional disabilities; this compares to 50% for older seniors (85+). (Long-Term Care Insurance: Trends and Outlook LIMRA International, 2001)

Most people—nearly 79%--who need LTC live at home or in community settings, not in institutions. (Long-Term Care Users Range in Age and Most Do Not Living in Nursing Homes: Research Alert Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, November, 2000)

In 2000, there were just over 20 dependent adults over age 65 for every 100 people aged 18 to 64. This will increase to 36 dependents per 100 people in 2050. (The Mature Market in the U.S. (2001) Drinkwater, M., Bryck, S., Parmelee, J., Plympton, A., Ahmed, N., Ash, P. Limra International. 11/28/01)

While the population perceives the risk of needing LTC services to be less than 25%, the actual risk for needing LTC (either home or nursing care) is 50% (1994-1995 Profiles and Innovations in a Dynamic Market, Health Insurance Association of America/Life Plans Inc. Confirmed with LifePlans, Inc. January 2001)

The federal government estimates up to 2 million Americans suffer some kind of traumatic brain injury each year - 50,000 die, but 70,000 to 90,000 are disabled (General Accounting Office, February 1998)

According to estimates by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), two out of every five people in the US will eventually require some form of long-term care (Fitch, "Long-term Care: An Industry in Transition," January 18, 2002)

Approximately 40% of the 13 million Americans currently receiving LTC benefits are between the ages of 18 and 65 (Fitch, "Long-term Care: An Industry in Transition," January 18, 2002)

Recent studies indicate that close to 80% of all LTC patients simply need help with the activities of daily living rather than medical treatment (Fitch, "Long-term Care: An Industry in Transition," January 18, 2002)

Less than 3% of all Americans have purchased long-term care protection (Life Insurance Marketing Research Association -- LIMRA)

50% of all Americans will need some form of long-term care during their lifetime (American Health Care Association, January 1999)

40% of those receiving long-term care are working-age adults ages 18-64 due to accidents, strokes, brain injuries or tumors, mental conditions, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, etc. and even early onset of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease (Tilly, Jane, et al. "Long-term Care Chart Book: Persons Served, Payers, and Spending," The Urban Institute, May 5, 2000)

Two-thirds of respondents to a recent survey found it difficult to admit they would ever need some long-term care during their lives (("Retirement Planning for Baby Boomers: The Role of Long-term Care Insurance," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, September 1999)

1 in 10 Americans older than 65 and almost half age 85 and older who live in the community require assistance with their everyday activities ("Retirement Planning for Baby Boomers: The Role of Long-term Care Insurance," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, September 1999)

Once you reach age 65, at some point in the remainder of your life, you have a 49% chance of spending time in a nursing home and a 72% chance of needing some type of care at home (Health Insurance Association of America - Knowing Risk, Paying the Price, 1999, pages 11 and 12)

43% of all long term care services are provided to individuals under the age of 65 (US Dept. of Health and Human Services, 2000)

The average age of a care recipient is 77 (National Alliance For Caregiving. Study found in Senior Market Advisor, November 2002)

There are more older Americans today than any other time in our history. One out of six adults (16.2 percent) is over 65 years old - a proportion that will nearly double to 26.5 percent by 2050 (US Census Bureau)

Even among the most severely disabled older persons living in the community, about half rely solely on family members and other informal help, often resulting in great strain for the family caregivers. (Long-Term Care: Medicaid’s Role and Challenges (publication #2172) The Henry J. Kaiser Foundation November, 1999)

Currently, the average informal caregiver is a female, married, in her mid-forties working full time. Between January 1999 and June 2000, 16.5 percent of American workers took a leave for family or medical reasons. Of these employees, nearly 11 percent took leave in order to care for an ailing parent, up significantly from 8 percent in 1995. (Balancing the Needs of Families and Employers: Family and Medical Leave Surveys. U.S. Department of Labor 2000 Update)

According to a study of 217 family caregivers conducted by Richard Schulz, a psychiatrist from the University of Pittsburgh, during the months before the Alzheimer’s patient died, 42% of caregivers had scores on a test that indicated a risk of clinical depression. (Alzheimer’s Costs Cut Many Ways As Caregivers Battle Depression Bulkeley, William M.
Wall Street Journal, November 13, 2003)

Home Care claimants receive an average of 59 hours of care per week—36 hours of formal home care and 23 hours of family care. (Cohen, M., Miller, J. and Weinrobe, M. (1999). “A Descriptive Analysis of Patterns of Informal and Formal Caregiving among Privately Insured and Non-Privately Insured Disabled Elders Living in the Community.” Final Report to the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Aging and Disability Policy, Department of Health and Human Services Washington, DC)

Approximately 1.7 million people age 65 and older received formal home health care on any given day in 1996. Health, United States, 1999 With Health and Aging Chartbook. National Center for Health Statistics, 1999)

40% of caregivers stated that they had to take time off without pay for an average of 17 days of work missed per year due to caring for a disabled elder, and those lost workdays translated to lost earnings of $5,393 per year.
• 40% of working caregivers are currently employed fewer hours than they would like.
• 7% of all caregivers and 18% of those also caring for children stopped work in order to take care of the care recipient.
• 36% of caregivers who are children of the care recipient and 28% of the caregivers other than spouse or children live with the care recipient. 66% of unmarried caregivers live with the care recipients
• 25% of non-spousal caregivers had to change their residence or move-in with the care recipient, and 34% of the caregivers reported that the care recipient had to move closer or in with them.
• 42% of those caring for cognitively impaired individuals spend more than 40 hours per week doing so compared to 30% of those providing care to the cognitively intact.
• Time spent by caregivers averaged almost 39 hours a week (median 24 hours).
• 56% of spousal caregivers, but only 18% of caregivers who are children of the care recipients, spend 40 or more hours per week providing care to care recipients who have 5-6 ADL limitations.
• Adult children are more likely to substitute paid care for informal care than are spouses.
• 83% of the caregivers have been providing care for four years or less, 69% have provided care for two to four years.
• 89% of married claimants with children identified their spouse as an informal caregiver, and 10% identified a child as their informal caregiver.
• Spousal caregivers care for the most disabled recipients, provide more weekly hours of care, and provide much more hands-on assistance with basic activities of daily living than non-spousal caregivers.
• 47% of long-term care insurance beneficiaries receiving benefits at home, 53% of their non-spousal caregivers, and 43% of their spousal caregivers said that the care-receiver would have to seek institutional alternatives if there was no long-term care insurance available.

(Informal Caregivers of Disabled Elders with Long-Term Care Insurance
Cohen, M.A.; Weinrobe, M.; Miller, J. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disability, Aging, and Long-Term Care Policy (DALTCP) and LifePlans, Inc. January 2000)

Less than 17% of home care costs in 1998 were paid by Medicaid (Health Care Financing Administration, 1998)

The average 21st century American is projected to spend more years taking care of aging family members than raising children (Age Power, by Ken Dychtwald, PhD, 1999)

72% of caregivers are women (National Alliance for Giving and the American Association of Retired Persons, Caregiving in the US, 1997)

14.4 million Americans who juggle their jobs with caregiving responsibilities are late for work, distracted at work, leave early or take long lunches (The MetLife Study of Employer Costs for Working Caregivers, June 1997)

One out of four caregivers in a recent survey reported providing home care for five years or more ("Who Buys Long-term Care Insurance? 1994-95 Profiles and Innovations in a Dynamic Market," Health Insurance Association of America/Life Plans, Inc. Confirmed by LifePlans, Inc., February 2001)

At an average of about $16 per hour, home care can cost you much more than nursing home care, depending on how much you have (Spector, Fleishman, Pezzin, Spillman, "The Characteristics of Long-term Care Users," Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, September 2000)

When asked where they would want to live should they need some assistance in daily living, most people say they want to stay in their own homes ("Planning for the Rest of Your Life: A New Perspective," Journal of Financial Service Professionals)

Families provide 95 percent of informal long-term care ("From Childcare to Eldercare: Our Turn to Care for Mom and Dad," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, September 1999)

Most of the growth in long-term care since 1985 has been in assisted living and home care (("Challenges for Long-term Care Insurance in a Rapidly Changing World," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, January 1999)

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the number of frail parents per adult child will nearly double by 2030, with families providing 80 percent of the needed care ("Adult Day Care Plays Key Role in Filling Seniors' Needs," Business First, The Weekly Business Newspaper of Greater Louisville, December 21, 1998)

64% of caregiving women work full time (1997 National Caregiving Survey)

52% of those caring for an elderly relative or friend are employed full-time (National Alliance For Caregiving. Study found in Senior Market Advisor, November 2002)

54% of working caregivers have made changes at work to accommodate their caregiving responsibilities (National Alliance For Caregiving. Study found in Senior Market Advisor, November 2002)

81% of working caregivers say their employer is understanding of their caregiving responsibilities (National Alliance For Caregiving. Study found in Senior Market Advisor, November 2002)

The average age of caregivers is 46; 73 percent are women (National Alliance For Caregiving. Study found in Senior Market Advisor, November 2002)

Studies have consistently found that the delivery of community-based, long-term care services is a cost effective alternative to nursing homes. Annual cost estimates in 2000 were $13,000 for adult day care, $25,300 for assisted living and $44,100 for nursing home care. (Stucki, R.R. and Mulver, J. Can Aging Baby Boomers Avoid the Nursing Home?: Long-Term Care Insurance for Aging in Place. American Council of Life Insurers, March 2000)

Over two-thirds of the current health care dollar goes to treating chronic illness; for older persons the proportion rises to almost 95%. (Hoffman, C., Rise, D., & Sung, H.Y. Persons with chronic conditions: Their prevalence and costs
JAMA, 276(18); 1999)

The forecast is that nursing home and home care expenditures for the elderly will rise by 123% between 1993 and 2018 alone; public expenditures for Medicare and Medicaid will increase by 109% (Wiener, 1998). (Journal of Aging and Social Policy, Vol 13(1) 2001. Vertical Axes on the Long-Term Care Continuum: A Comparison of Board and Care and Assisted Living)

Private Health and long-term care insurance account for only 11% of total long-term care expenditures in the United States. Disability income insurance policies aimed at replacing lost wages usually end by age 65 or earlier. (Beyond 50 2003: A Report to the Nation on Independent Living and Disability. Gibson, MJ., et. al. AARP, Washington, D.C. 2003)

In 2000, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that by 2040, long-term care expenditures, adjusted for inflation, would increase at an annual rate of 2.6%. Expressed in dollars, long-term care expenditures in 2000 of $123 billion will rise to $207 billion in 2020 and to $346 billion in 2040 (in 2000 dollars). (Projections of Expenditures for Long-Term Care Services for the Elderly. Congressional Budget Office memorandum. March 1999)

The aging of the population is expected to result in a tripling of long-term care expenditures in the next 40 years from $115 billion to $346 billion annually. (Niefield, M., O’Brien, E., & Feder, J. Long-Term Care: Medicaid’s Role and Challenges. Kaiser Commission Medicaid and the Uninsured, 1999. Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

12% of families who helped elderly relatives dip into college funds and 26% use money allocated for retirement to pay for this care (National Council on Aging, John Hancock Long-term Care Survey, 1999)

In 1999, LTC costs, defined as expenditures on home health and nursing home care, totaled $123.0 billion, according to a study published by CMS's (formerly known as Health Care Financing Administration) Office of the Actuary ( (Fitch, "Long-term Care: An Industry in Transition," January 18, 2002)

The new law (Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 2000) may also encourage the purchase of more long-term care insurance...the high and rapidly rising cost of LTC makes it one of the most ominous financial threats facing senior citizens in the US today ("50 in 2000: Leading Edge Boomers Reflect on Life and Retirement," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, July 2000)

About 1.5 million Americans are in a nursing home, the average annual cost of which is $54,000 ("50 in 2000: Leading Edge Boomers Reflect on Life and Retirement," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, July 2000)

Only 7 percent of long-term care is paid for by private insurance ("Focusing on Retirement Needs: The Period After Retirement," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, July 2000)

The aggregate costs of caregiving in lost productivity to US business is $11.4 billion per year. When caregiver costs are factored in (for health care, mental health services, leaves of absence, turning down promotions, etc.) the total cost to US business would exceed $29 billion per year ("From Childcare to Eldercare: Our Turn to Care for Mom and Dad," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, September 1999)

About one-third of Americans believe they can rely on the government for their long-term care costs. 50 percent of boomers believe their health care plan will cover their long-term care needs. Health insurance does not cover long-term care expenses ("Retirement Planning for Baby Boomers: The Role of Long-term Care Insurance," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, September 1999)

26 percent of families who help elderly relatives use (family) money allocated for retirement and 12 percent dip into college funds to pay for this care ("Retirement Planning for Baby Boomers: The Role of Long-term Care Insurance," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, September 1999)

Overall, 46 percent of boomers could afford to purchase long-term care insurance ("Retirement Planning for Baby Boomers: The Role of Long-term Care Insurance," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, September 1999)

The in-force premium volume for individual and group association policies sold as of 2001 was around $5.6 billion. (Long-Term Care Insurance in 2000-2001. Executive Summary HIAA, January 2003)

By the end of 2001, more than 1.3 million policies had been sold through more than 4,700 employers. (Long-Term Care Insurance in 2000-2001/ HIAA, January 2003)

The majority of long-term care insurance policies were sold in the individual and group association market. As of December 31, 2001, approximately 80 percent of the 8.26 million long-term care insurance policies had been sold through the individual and group association markets. (Long-Term Care Insurance in 2000-2001. HIAA, January 2003)

From 1988 to 2001, the average age of the purchasers in the individual market steadily fell, decreasing from 72 in 1990 to65 in 1999. In 2001, this average age dropped down to 62. On the other hand, the average ages of the employee and life rider purchaser have increased. Since 1990, the employee purchaser’s age has remained fairly constant at about 43. In 2001, this increased to 46. The average age of a life rider purchaser also significantly increased from 55 in 1999 to 66 in 2001. (Long-Term Care Insurance in 2000-2001. HIAA, January 2003)

The average age of employees enrolled in long-term care group insurance is 50 years old, with the age ranging from 40 to 55. This varies slightly depending upon the sample size of employers being surveyed. ( Who Buys Long-Term Care Insurance In the Workplace? — A Study of Employer Long-Term Care insurance Plans, 2001. LifePlans, Inc. (Prepared for Health Insurance Association of America)

The average daily nursing home benefit has increased by 28 percent over the past five years. This is higher than the rate of inflation.

The average daily benefit for home care has grown by 36 percent over a five-year period (1995-2000). (Who Buys Long-Term Care Insurance in 2000? LifePlans, Inc. (Prepared for Health Insurance Association of America) 10/2000.

Annual premiums have increased approximately 11 percent between 1995 and 2000, from $1,505 to $1,677. Given the comprehensive nature of the policies, a 20 percent increase was expected, making long-term care insurance more affordable with greater value than 5 years ago. (Who Buys Long-Term Care Insurance in 2000? LifePlans, Inc. (Prepared for Health Insurance Association of America) 10/2000.

When asked specifically what factor would make them most interested in enrolling in a long-term care plan, over one-third of non-enrolled employees indicate than an above-the-line tax deduction, that is, tax incentives for the purchase of long-term care insurance (regardless of whether people itemize or not), would make them most interested in enrolling in a long-term care plan. (Who Buys Long-Term Care Insurance in the Workplace? LifePlans, Inc. (Prepared for Health Insurance Association of America) October 2001.

From 1995 to 2000, individual premium sales grew at a compound average annual growth rate of 13% and individual in-force premium grew at a rate of 21%. Group insurance sales grew at a compound average annual growth rate of 35% and in-force grew at a rate of 16%. As the group market represents a small base, its growth is particularly volatile. (Long-Term Care Insurance: Trends and Outlook. LIMRA International, 2001)

From 1988 to 2001, the average age of the purchasers in the individual market steadily fell, decreasing from 72 in 1990 to 65 in 1999. In 2001, this average age dropped down to 62. Since 1990, the employee purchaser's age has remained fairly constant at about 43. In 2001, this increased to 46. (Long-Term Care Insurance in 2000-2001. Health Insurance Association of America. January 2003)

By the end of 2001, more than 4,700 employers were offering a long-term care insurance plan to their employees, retirees, or both. There were more than 1,500 employer-sponsored plans introduced in 2000 and 2001 alone. Many small employers (between one and 500 employees) have started offering long-term care insurance to their employees. This number has increased dramatically, rising from 58 in 1990 to about 3,000 by 2001. This group represents more than two-thirds of all employers offering long-term care coverage to their employees, retirees, or both. (Long-Term Care Insurance in 2000-2001. Health Insurance Association of America. January 2003)

Among women baby boomers, 37% took specific actions to plan for their future as a result of their experience in caring for someone. Among these caregivers, 36% purchased additional life, health, or long-term care insurance. (Passing the Trust to Private Long-Term Care Insurance Stucki, Barbara. American Council of Life Insurers 2003)

More than half of all nursing home residents run out of money within the first year and qualify for welfare/Medicaid (Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, March 2000)

10.8% of residents of Assisted Living Facilities are paid for by Medicaid (Seniors' Housing and Care Journal, 2000)

Two-thirds of nursing home patients are on Medicaid (Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, May 1999)

One-fourth of the Medicaid budget in the United States is being spent on nursing home care (Health Care Financing Administration, 1998 statistics)

Medicaid is second only to education in terms of state spending, accounting for about 20 percent of all state spending. (State Long-Term Care: Recent Development and Policy Directions. Coleman, Barbara, Fox-Grage, Wendy, Folkemer, Donna. National Conference of State Legislatures 2002)

Total Medicaid spending rose by roughly 25% between federal fiscal year 2000 and 2002, increasing from $205.8 billion to $257.6 billion. Long-term care spending increased by 10.7% between 2000-2002 vs. 7.6% between 1998-2000. (Medicaid Spending: What Factors Contributed to the Growth Between 2000 and 2002? The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation; Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured September 2003)

Spending on long-term nursing facilities increased from $34.4 billion in fiscal year 1998 to $47.5 billion in FY 2002, an average annual growth rate of 7.4%. (Medicaid Spending: What Factors Contributed to the Growth Between 2000 and 2002? The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation; Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured September 2003)

Spending on Home and community-based services increased from $17.6 billion in fiscal year 1998 to $29.6 billion in fiscal year 2002, an average annual growth rate of 12.3%. (Medicaid Spending: What Factors Contributed to the Growth Between 2000 and 2002? The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation; Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured September 2003)

Between 1992 and 1997, the Medicare budget for home health care rose from approximately $7 billion to over $18 billion (The Wall Street Journal, May 1998)

Medicare spends more than a quarter of its annual budget on care for those in their last year of life (Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Contract Research Series no. 00-1, May 2000)

As of June 2000, the Medicare Part A trust fund was projected to extend to 2023 while the Social Security trust fund was projected to extend to 2037 ("50 in 2000: Leading Edge Boomers Reflect on Life and Retirement," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, July 2000)

The discounted present value of future health care costs at retirement is estimated at $150,000 - $182,000, with Medicare paying about 50 to 55 percent under current law ("Focusing on Retirement Needs: The Period After Retirement," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, July 2000)

Medicare requires doctors to certify that a patient is likely to live for 6 months or less in order to qualify for hospice benefits. However, less than 40% of terminal patients receive an accurate prognosis. (Public Policy & Aging Report
National Academy on an Aging Society; The Gerontological Society of America. Winter, 2003 Volume 13, Number 1)

Nursing home inflation has averaged 4.25% over the past four years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) for nursing homes and adult day care. This index has only been tracked over the past four years, and there is no CPI for home health care. (Long-Term Care: An Industry in Transition Fitch IBCA, Duff & Phelps, January 18, 2002)

By 2030, according to one estimate, some 5.3 million elderly people are expected to need nursing home care. (The Nursing Home Population May Increase Substantially. Friedland, R., & Summer, L. Demography is Not Destiny. 1/1/99)

Over half of all women and about a third of all men who survive to age 65 can expect to spend some time in a nursing home before they die. (The Nursing Home Population May Increase Substantially. Friedland, R., & Summer, L. Demography is Not Destiny. 1/1/99)

You have a 43 percent likelihood of being in a nursing home at least once during your lifetime. Half of nursing home stays are short, usually 3 months or less, so you have only a 23 percent likelihood of staying in a nursing home for more than 1 year, and a 9 percent likelihood of staying more than 5 years. (Planning for Long-Term Care. United Seniors Health Council, Washington, D.C. McGraw-Hill 2002)

Only 10% of nursing home patients are in the age category of under 65 years old (American Health Care Association, 1999)

Nursing home inflation has averaged 4.25% over the past four years, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistic's Consumer Price Index (CPI) for nursing homes and adult day care (Fitch, "Long-term Care: An Industry in Transition," January 18, 2002)

The Medicare program does account for about 12 percent of nursing home revenue (US General Accounting Office)

Over 40 percent of the seniors who turn 65 each year will spend some time in a nursing home ("50 in 2000: Leading Edge Boomers Reflect on Life and Retirement," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, July 2000)

From 1985 to 1995, nursing home growth was a modest 3 percent while the older population increased by 18 percent ("Challenges for Long-term Care Insurance in a Rapidly Changing World," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, January 1999)

According to a study by the American Council of Life Insurance (ACLI), by 2023, the number of nursing homes will double, and the cost of care will quadruple and could reach $330 billion per year ("Long-term Care Crisis Forecast," Best Review, April 1999)

There is a one in 80 chance of ever using your homeowner's insurance, a one in 40 chance of ever using your automobile insurance, but about a 60 percent chance you're going to be in a nursing home after age 65 (National Underwriter, May 10, 1999)

Depending on your location, current nursing home costs run anywhere from $40,000 - $100,000 per year (Metlife Mature Market Institute, July 2000).