Most California voters age 40 or older say they are not prepared for the cost of long-term health care should they need it, and they want the state to do more to make in-home and nursing home care affordable, according to a poll released Wednesday.
The survey of 1,218 voters age 40 and up found that only 15 percent have long-term care insurance, but only 20 percent realize that Medi-Care does not cover long-term care in the home and only 30 percent know that Medi-Care does not cover extended nursing home stays. Too qualify for public assistance with these costs, Californians have to spend down their assets and have little or no income.
Other findings:
–68 percent say they could not afford more than three months of nursing home care, and 42 percent could not afford one month of care;
–57 percent could not afford more than three months of in-home care, with one in three currently unable to afford one month of care.
–Nearly all voters 40 and older (95 percent) say it is important to have affordable long-term care options available so older people can avoid going into nursing
homes. Two-thirds (66 percent) say ensuring these options should be a high priority for state elected officials, including half or more of Democrats (76 percent),
Republicans (50 percent), and independents (66 percent).
The poll was conducted by Lake Research Partners on behalf of the SCAN Foundation and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
To see the complete results, go here.
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