"What are my odds of needing long-term care?”
It is human nature to think that YOU will never need long-term care. After all, things like that happen to OTHER people, right? That is what most of us would like to believe. Because we don’t think it will happen to us, we are often reluctant to plan ahead for future long-term care needs. The reality is that there is a strong possibility that you will need some type of long-term care at some point in your life.

“While the general population perceives the risk of needing long-term care services to be less than 25%, the actual risk for needing long-term care (either home care or nursing home care) is greater than 50%." LifePlans, Inc. January 2001 as seen in Long-Term Care: Your Financial Planning Guide, Phyllis Shelton 2001

"Who is at risk for needing long-term care? Isn’t it just older people? " While there are a lot of older people that need long-term care, it is important not to overlook that young people can need long-term care too. It is never too early to plan for your future long-term care needs. Some common reasons that young people can need long-term care are: strokes, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and accidents to name just a few.

When Caring Isn't Enough - American Academy of Actuaries, January 1999 Percent of Working-Age Adults Needing LTC

"I can’t see myself in a nursing home. I’d rather jump off of a bridge or shoot myself!"
Most people have a hard time admitting that they could need long-term care because they associate long-term care with nursing homes. None of us can imagine ourselves being in nursing homes. In fact, we live our lives promising our parents that we will NEVER put them in a nursing home. A nursing home is the LAST place we would like to receive care.

The good news is that a nursing home is probably the last place you will have to go. Today, there are so many more options that weren’t available before. Now it is possible to stay at home or live in an assisted living facility, rather than go to a nursing home. Many people are more realistic about seeing themselves needing long-term care in their home.

 

82% of long-term care takes place in the home, adult day care centers, and assisted living facilities. 18% of long-term care takes place in nursing homes. Agency for Health Care Research and Quality Sept. 2000 as seen in Long-Term Care: Your Financial Planning Guide, Phyllis Shelton 2001