Most Americans (84%) have had at least some experience with nursing homes – either as a patient or a visitor, and nearly half (46%) say a family member or close friend has been in a home in the past 3 years (see Experience with Long-Term Care).
There is a fair amount of concern about paying for long-term care, with nearly three in ten (28%) adults saying they are “very” worried that they won’t be able to pay for nursing home and home care services (see Concern About Long-Term Care). Just over one-quarter (26%) of adults say they have given “a lot” of thought to how they will pay for long-term care, and this share increases with age (see Planning For Long-Term Care).
Views On Nursing Homes
Compared with other players in the health care industry, nursing homes rank below drug companies in the share of adults who say they are doing a “good job” serving health care consumers. While majorities say nurses (84%), doctors (69%) and hospitals (64%) do a “good job” serving consumers, nursing homes (35%) rank below pharmaceutical companies (43%) and just above health insurance companies (34%), and HMOs (30%) (see Views Of Nursing Homes In Relation To Other Industries).
Most adults agree that nursing homes provide a safe environment for people who need them (69%), but are more mixed on the affordability and quality of nursing home care. While more than half (53%) of the public agrees that nursing homes provide an affordable way for people to get round-the-clock care, nearly four in ten (39%) disagree (including 21% who “strongly” disagree) (see Views On Benefits Of Nursing Homes). Similarly, while nearly half (46%) of the public agree that nursing homes provide high-quality services, a similar share (42%) disagree (see Perceived Quality Of Nursing Homes).
Indeed, the public is somewhat wary of nursing home care - twice as many adults say being in a nursing home makes people “worse off” than they were before (41%) as say that nursing homes make people “better off” (19%). Furthermore, few people say they would choose to get care in a nursing home (12%) over a hospital (39%) if they required round-the-clock care (see Views On Nursing Home Care).
While most Americans agree that nursing home staff members are concerned about the well-being of their patients (68%), many believe nursing homes are understaffed and poorly managed, and say families of nursing home residents are not involved enough. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of the public agrees that nursing homes don’t have enough staff (including 50% who “strongly” agree). About six in ten agree that nursing home staff are poorly trained (60%), and that there is too much waste, fraud and abuse by nursing home managers (58%). More than six in ten (64%) agree that families of those in nursing homes are not involved enough in what’s going on (see Views Of Nursing Home Management).
Paying for Long-Term Care
In terms of paying for long-term care, three in ten (30%) adults say insurance would be the main source of funds if they or a family member needed nursing home care. Fewer say personal savings (16%) or government programs such as Medicare or Medicaid (13%) would be the main source (see Cost Of Nursing Home Care). In reality, private insurance is estimated to pay for a small share of nursing home expenses (8%), while Medicaid (46%) is the major source of financing for nursing home care.
Few Americans report having long-term care insurance - just over two in ten (21%) adults say they have a long-term care policy. The most commonly cited reason among those without a policy is cost (59%). However, nearly one-third (32%) of people without long-term care insurance say it’s just not something they’ve ever thought about (see Long-Term Care Insurance).
The public is mixed on whether a federal tax-credit would encourage them to buy long-term care insurance. About half (48%) say a tax credit would make them more likely to buy a policy, while the same share (48%) say it would not (see Tax Credits For Long-Term Care Insurance).
Government’s Role In Long-Term Care
Americans see a role for government in regulating nursing home quality. About six in ten (63%) adults agree that there is not enough government regulation of the quality of nursing homes and almost half (48%) say nursing homes are not paid enough by the government and other insurers (see Government Regulation Of Nursing Homes).
Sources of Information About Nursing Homes
Many Americans are unsure of where to get advice and information about nursing homes -57% say they would not know where to go for advice or information if a family member needed nursing home care. The public seems most comfortable getting information and advice about nursing home care from personal sources. Many more say they would be “very likely” to go to friends and family (59%) or their doctor (54%) for information, compared with government websites (27%), community service agencies (25%), books/reports (25%) or government programs (23%) (see Sources Of Information About Nursing Home Care).
