NATIONAL AND STATE ESTIMATES OF LONG-TERM CARE SERVICES USERS: 2016 NATIONAL STUDY OF LONG-TERM CARE PROVIDERS

The US population aged 65 and older is projected to double from 46 million to 98 million by 2060. While many Americans receive care from family caregivers, the number of users of paid, regulated long-term care services, including adult day, residential care, nursing homes, home health, and hospice, continues to rise. Using data from the 2016 National Study of Long-Term Care Providers conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, this poster provides a descriptive overview of characteristics of users of paid, regulated long-term care services, by sector. National and state-level estimates are presented on demographics (age, race/ethnicity, and sex); Medicaid use; diagnoses; need for assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs); and overnight hospital stays, emergency department visits, and falls. In 2016, about 57,000 long-term care services providers served 8.3 million people. Services user characteristics varied by sector. The adult day sector was the most racially/ethnically diverse and residential care served the largest percentage of services users aged 85 and over. Medicaid use was highest for adult day participants. Nursing homes had the highest percentage of services users with Alzheimer disease and depression, while the percentage of services users with diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension was highest in home health. Adult day services had the lowest percentage of services users needing ADL assistance. Home health had the highest percentage of services users with overnight and emergency hospitalization. These findings on differences and similarities among services users by sector can inform policies to meet the needs of an aging population.