Older Maui Residents Lack Confidence in Long-Term Care

Image courtesy: AARP.

By Wendy Osher

The results of a new survey of older Maui residents were released indicating a lack of confidence in long term care.

The survey, conducted by AARP on residents age 50 and older, showed a lack of confidence in the ability to pay for the cost of care both at nursing homes and at home. Other findings include a general reliance on friends and family members, with most respondents saying they did not wish to burden others with their care.

The release of the survey coincides with the introduction of a Senate Bill 104 and House Bill 1, which would cover funding for a study of a long-term care public insurance program for working residents.

AARP officials say this was one of the recommendations of the Hawaii Long-Term Care Commission, which submitted to the Legislature last year its “dire assessment” of Hawaii’s long-term care system.

If passed, SB104 and HB1 would requires the director of the Executive Office on Aging to contract for the performance of an actuarial analysis for a limited, mandatory, public long term care insurance program for the state’s working population.  The bills would also require a report to the Legislature, and appropriate funds for the actuarial analysis.

Highlights from the AARP Survey on Maui Include the Following:

The majority of Maui residents 50+ say they are likely to long-term care in the future.

• 58% say they are extremely, very or somewhat likely to need long-term care in the future.
• 61% believe they will be at least 75-years-old before they need long-term care, and another 21% are unsure at what age they might begin to need long-term care.

Many Maui residents 50+ do not want to depend on their family or friends for long-term care; however, many are not currently planning for future long-term care needs and believe their family or friends will care for them.

• 74% agree with the statement “I do not want to depend on my family or friends for my long-term care needs.”
• 54% agree with “I am not planning for my own long-term care because I am just trying to meet my daily living expenses right now.”
• 57% agree with the statement “My family or friends will take care of me if I need long-term care.”

Many Maui residents 50+ say high cost is the reason for not purchasing a long-term care insurance policy.

• The most frequently cited reason for not purchasing a long-term care insurance policy among those who do not currently have one is that these policies are too expensive (43%).
• About nine in 10 of those respondents who currently have a long-term care insurance policy say that their policy covers care given in their own home (91%), a nursing home (74%) or an assisted living facility (63%).

The majority of Maui residents 50+ are not confident that they can afford the costs of long-term care for one year in various settings.

• More than half are not confident that they can afford the cost of long-term care for one year in a nursing home (65%) or in their own home (49%).
• The sources respondents believe they will rely on the most to pay for long-term care are Medicaid (20%), personal savings and assets (23%), long-term care insurance (16%) and Social Security (12%).

Many Maui residents 50+ support establishing a public long-term care insurance program in which all working residents would pay a monthly premium and be eligible for limited long-term care services in the future.

• 66% support establishing a public long-term care insurance program and 21% oppose the creation of this program. About one in 10 neither support nor oppose this proposal.
• Among those who support a long-term care insurance program, 38% would be willing to pay between $50 and $74 per month in premiums. 26% would be willing to pay between $75 and $124 per month, and 23% would be willing to pay between $125 and $199.