The Risk of Needing Long-Term Care

 Some people will never need long-term care before they pass away. However, the statistics show that in 2008 about 8 million men and women over the age of 65 will need long-term care.  By the year 2010, the number increased to 10 million.  By the year 2020, 15 million older Americans will need long-term care.  Most will be cared for at home where family members and friends will be the main caregivers for 70 percent of elderly people who need long term care. 

A study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicates that people age 65 faces 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 because modern medicine is keeping them alive longer. 

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 aged 85 and older are in nursing homes around the country.  Since women generally outlive men by about 5 years, they face a 50 percent greater likely hood than men of entering a nursing home after age 65.  While certainly older people are more likely to need long-term care, the 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.