Long-term care for the elderly. The future of nursing homes

Abstract

Continuing growth in the number of impaired elderly persons necessitates a continued reliance on nursing homes to care for at least those who are most impaired or most lacking in other supports, despite dissatisfaction over the quality of nursing home services and anxiety about the costs. Nursing home care now costs more than $30 billion annually, half of which comes from governmental sources. The Medicaid program, in particular, is central to all aspects of the nursing home industry. Private long-term care insurance is unlikely to solve the problem of nursing home financing. Rationalizing public expenditures will hinge critically on greater clarity as to just what roles nursing homes are expected to fulfill in the system of care, especially how they are supposed to relate to other services provided to Medicare beneficiaries.