Survey Reveals Hawaii Residents' Concern Over Cost of Long-term Care
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2006-03-22 13:03:55
A new AARP survey indicates that Hawaii residents are increasingly concerned about their ability to pay for long-term care.
The survey shows that most people (75%) are not confident that they can afford the cost of nursing home care services for even one year. The average cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home in Hawaii is about $239 a day—and $262 a day for a private room, according to insurance estimates (about $73,000 per year).
Given the rising cost of nursing home care, a majority of respondents (80%) said it was important to have long-term care services that would help them or a family member stay at home as long as possible. Should they become ill or disabled, more than eight in 10 people in Hawaii said they would prefer to receive care in their home—provided by family, friends, or home-care professionals.
"We're seeing a growing realization in Hawaii today that the costs associated with our rapidly aging population are going to have to be met—by individuals, families and our society as a whole," said AARP Hawaii State Director Barbara Kim Stanton. "How we care for our kupuna as the number of island residents over the age of 60 grows is one of the most important issues of our time."
Hawaii's aging population and the longevity of its people compared to other states combine to make long-term care a challenging social issue. Census data show that while individuals 60+ represented 17% of Hawaii's total population in 2000—that will climb to 25 % by 2020, when one in every four island residents will be over the age of 60. Hawaii residents outlive people in other states by an average of four years, with residents 75+ and 85+ among the fastest growing segments of our population.
Island residents are already facing the complexity of issues related to long-term care—everything from access to how to pay for it. A quarter of those surveyed said they or a family member needed long-term care services in the last five years, and two in five said it is likely that they or someone in their family will need services in the next five years.
The AARP survey indicates that nearly two-thirds of Hawaii's people (64%) believe the cost of long-term care services should be shared between individuals and the government. Indeed, more than a quarter of those surveyed (26%) said they would be willing to contribute more than $20 a month to a state long-term care plan. Almost two-thirds of Hawaii's people are willing to contribute $10 a month or more to help support a state long-term care plan.
AARP commissioned the survey to gauge the need for financing long-term care services in Hawaii. It is based on a total of 700 interviews completed February 22-27 with adult residents age 18 or older. The survey has a sampling error of plus or minus 3.7 %.
Read the full survey online.
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