2012 AARP Survey of Hawaii 50+ Residents on Long-Term Care

The AARP Hawaii Office commissioned a survey to explore the views of its 50+ residents on the topic of long-term care including planning for future needs and support for a public long-term care insurance program.

Key findings included:

• The majority of 50+ residents in Hawaii say they are likely to need long-term care in the future; 59% say they are extremely, very or somewhat likely to need long-term care in the future.
  
• Many 50+ residents in Hawaii do not want to depend on their family or friends for long-term care; however, many are not currently planning for future long-term care needs and believe their family or friends will care for them.
  
• Many 50+ residents in Hawaii say high cost is the reason for not purchasing a long-term care insurance policy.  
  
• The majority of 50+ residents in Hawaii are not confident that they can afford the costs of long-term care for one year in various settings.  Half or more are not confident that they can afford the cost of long-term care for one year in a nursing home (64%) or in their own home (50%).  The sources respondents believe they will rely on the most to pay for long-term care are Medicaid (21%), personal savings and assets (17%), long-term care insurance (16%) and Social Security (12%).  
  
• Many 50+ residents in Hawaii support establishing a public long-term care insurance program in which all working residents would pay a monthly premium to be eligible for limited long-term care services in the future; 59% support establishing a public long-term care insurance program and 27% oppose the creation of this program.  About one in ten neither support nor oppose this proposal.  Among those who support a long-term care insurance program, 36% would be willing to pay between $50 and $74 per month in premiums.  29% would be willing to pay between $75 and $124 per month, and 24% would be willing to pay between $125 and $199.
  
  

These results are based on a telephone survey fielded November 9th through the 26th, 2012 of 50+ Hawaii residents. A total of 800 interviews were completed. The results are weighted to reflect the age, gender, and geographic county of residence of the 50+ population in Hawaii. For more information, contact Joanne Binette at 202-434-6303.