Overview of Long-Term Care Services and Support for Seniors
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) delivers the first descriptive results from an in-depth study of Long-Term Care Providers.
The data comprised of surveys from interviews with adult day services centers, residential care communities, and the records obtained from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on home health agencies, hospices, and nursing homes.
The report gives consumers and policymakers the detailed information on care options, organizational characteristics, staffing, and services delivered by the long-term care (LTC) companies.
In 2012, 8 million people were served by regulated LTC providers in the United States. The services were offered by:
- 4800 adult day services centers
- 12,200 home health agencies
- 3700 hospices
- 15,700 nursing homes
- 22,200 assisted living and similar residential care communities
And, the numbers of people served by each provider type in 2012:
- Adult day care served 273,200 participants
- Nursing homes served 1,383,700 residents
- Residential care communities served 713,300 residents
- Home health care agencies served 4,742,500 patients
- Hospice served 1,244,500 patients
Rates of LTC Services
It is no surprise that the care service costs vary across all states and within each service sector. The most costly daily-use rate for residents was nursing homes, followed by residential care. It makes sense then that the most economical LTC service was adult day centers.
The breakdown of average costs by sector (see all LTC care costs by state)
Adult Day Care: $61/day
Assisted Living: $110/day
Home Care: $162/day (based on 44 hours per week)
Nursing Homes: $200/day (based on double occupancy)
Nursing Homes: $222/day (based on single occupancy)
Ownership of LTC Services
The study found that 4 of 5 care sectors are for-profit. But the majority of adult day care centers are not for profit.
By region, the West supplied equivalent number of residents in both residential care facilities and nursing homes. But in all other regions, the nursing home beds far outnumbered residential care beds. Overall, the number of nursing homes and residential care beds are significantly higher than adult day service centers in all regions, suggesting geographic differences for consumers of LTC.
For example:
- Number of residential care beds was higher in the Midwest and West than in the Northeast and the South
- Adult day services centers were greater in the West than in the South
Staffing by Sectors
It only makes sense that the number of nurses on staff was higher in nursing homes than in residential care communities and adult day services centers. It is because nursing home residents have a greater level of care needs compared to other LTC sectors.
Hospice hired more social workers over residential care communities. And hospices and nursing homes offered additional services like mental health and counseling services.
Users of Sevices
Those who use LTC support and services vary in age and health conditions:
- Adult day care participants and home health patients tended to be younger
- Adult day care members were the most racially and ethnically diverse
- Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias ranged from 30.1% among home health patients to 48.5% of nursing home residents
- The high need for assistance with daily living activities was common in all sectors, but nursing home residents rose to the top
The CDC hopes these findings will better inform policymakers to plan for the aging population.
Carol Marak is a contributor for the senior living and health care market. She advocates older adults and family caregivers by writing on tough topics like chronic issues, senior care, and housing. Find her work at AssistedLivingFacilities.org and HomeHealthcareAgencies.com and contact Carol on LinkedIn and Carol@SeniorCareQuest.com.
