How Long Will I Need Care?
Unfortunately, no one has a crystal ball so you can never be sure how long you could need long-term care. We can look at some statistics to see what some of the nursing home "averages" are, but that is no guarantee that if you needed long-term care you wouldn't be 'above average', or 'below average'. Today the average length of time a person needs care is 3.6 years.
There have been a lot of studies on the average length of stay in a nursing home, but it is difficult to get studies that show how long people need care in assisted living facilities or in their homes. An important point to note is that long-term care usually starts out in the home. Therefore, it is important to consider the length of time you may need care at home BEFORE you entered a nursing home and not base your planning on only nursing home statistics.
Recent claims data now shows that very few claims are paid over five years. Of course there are exceptions, expecially those suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. Alzheimer's patients can live with the disease for 10 years and longer.
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