Long-Term Care Costs Emerge as a Top Issue for Older Americans

U.S. residents ages 50 and older may be starting to worry more about the cost of long-term care than about the cost of acute health care or health insurance.

Dr. John Ayanian and other University of Michigan researchers raise that possibility in a new research letter, published behind a paywall on the American Medical Association’s JAMA website, which summarizes the results of a recent survey of 3,626 older adults.

When the survey team asked participants whether they were very worried about certain health-related concerns, the “cost of home care, assisted living, nursing home care” ranked first: 56.3% of the survey participants said they were very worried about that issue.

Here are the “very worried” levels for five other health-related concerns:

• Cost of acute medical care: 56.2%
• Cost of prescription medications: 54.3%
• Financial scams and fraud: 52.8%
• Cost of health insurance and Medicare: 52.1%
• Access to quality home care, assisted living, or nursing home care: 38.1%

Ayanian and his colleagues said they conducted the survey to understand which health-related concerns might have the most relevance to the 2024 elections.

“To engage older voters, candidates for president and Congress should prioritize communicating their plans for controlling health care costs,” the researchers conclude.

What it means: The Biden administration has emphasized the need to improve the quality of long-term care services by increasing staffing levels at nursing homes.