Women & LTC

 

Women Bear Greater Share of Long Term Care Risks and Costs

A recent study has found women were 72% percent more likely than men to enter a nursing home and may experience large financial sacrifices in their roles as America's predominant unpaid care providers.

"The Impact of Long Term Care on Women -- An Analysis of Women as Care Providers and Care Recipients" was presented to the Congressional Women's Caucus in a Capitol Hill briefing indicates long term care impacts women, both as care providers and recipients, more profoundly than men.

National polling data compiled by Public Opinion Strategies showed that 67 percent of adult American women respondents have provided long term care to someone in need.

"With the first wave of America's 77 million baby boomers turning 60 this year, it becomes more critical for both men and women to seriously evaluate the lifestyles they would like to maintain as we live well into our 80's, 90's and beyond," .

"Long term care planning is a family issue. And preparedness includes planning for the care that loved ones may need. As this new research indicates, women especially need to evaluate and address what has been revealed to be a gender-specific, disproportionate share of the long term care challenges that come with today's greater longevity."

Key findings in recent studies of the impact of long term care on women include:

— Estimates suggest there are over 30 million unpaid care providers in the U.S. and 7 in 10 are women.
— Nearly one in five unpaid caregivers (23%) in America provide "constant care" of at least 40 hours of care per week. Of those who provided constant care, 80% are women.

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