The use, cost, and economic burden of nursing-home care in 1985.
Nursing-home expenses constitute one of the greatest financial risks for elderly Americans. This study, based largely on the 1985 National Nursing-Home Survey, examines the economic burden posed by nursing-home care during 1985. The results indicate that nursing-home expenses constitute by far the largest out-of-pocket burden of all health care services. It was found that nursing-home care expenses constituted 82.5% of the out-of-pocket expenditures among the elderly who incurred $3,000 or more in such expenditures during 1985. Surprisingly, though, it was found that the frequency in which those in nursing homes "spend-down" their assets and income, thus becoming eligible for Medicaid, is much lower than others have calculated. This may be due in part to the fact that a large proportion of the elderly are already eligible for Medicaid when they begin their nursing-home stays.
Rice
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Department of Health Policy and Administration, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27514.
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D005260:Female; D005381:Financing, Organized; D005382:Financing, Personal; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States