Sustainable Housing for the Aging

I'm reading a fabulous study from Harvard University on sustainable housing for the aging - http://www.ecological-engineering.com/aging-in-place.pdf.

The statistics are staggering and enlightening. They clearly show that we need to understand more about the costs and benefits of the different ways we can live as we age:


Statistics
According to American Association of Homes for the Aging (AAHA), the statics are as follows:
Need for long-term care
• Among people turning 65 today, 69 percent will need some form of long-term
care, whether in the community or in a residential care facility.
• By 2020, 12 million older Americans will need long-term health care
Availability of elder care housing
• There are 16,100 certified nursing homes in the United States.
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• There are 39,500 assisted living facilities in the United States.
• There are 1,900 continuing care retirement communities in the United States.
• There are more than 300,000 units of Section 202 affordable senior housing
available in the United States.
• For each Section 202 affordable senior housing unit that is available, there are ten
eligible seniors on waiting lists for it. The average time an eligible senior is on the
waiting list is 13.4 months.
Cost for elder housing
• The average daily cost for a private room in a nursing home is $213.00 or $77,745
annually.
• The average daily cost for a semi-private room in a nursing home is $189.00 or
$68,985 annually.
• The average monthly cost of living in an assisted living facility is $2,969 or
$35,628 annually.
• The average monthly cost of living in a not-for-profit Continuing Care Retirement
Community is $2,672 or $32,064 annually.
• The average monthly rate for assisted living facilities that charge additional fees
for Alzheimer’s and dementia care is $4,270 or $51,240 annually.
• To move into a community, individuals must also pay an entry fee ranging from
$60,000 to $120,000.
• The average hourly rate for a certified home health aide is $32.37.
• The average hourly rate for a uncertified home health aide is $19.00.
• The national average daily rate for adult day centers is $61.00 (2007 MetLife
Market Survey of Adult Day Services & Home Care Costs)
• The national average hourly rate for homemakers/companions is $18.00 (2007
MetLife Market Survey of Adult Day Services & Home Care Costs)
Who Pays?
• Nearly 40 percent of long-term care spending is paid for by private funds.
• Medicare, which covers rehabilitation services after an individual is discharged
from a hospital, pays for 19 percent of all long-term care spending.
• Medicaid, which covers health care costs for low-income individuals, pays for 49
percent of all long-term care spending.
• Accounting for about 40 percent of total expenditures on nursing facilities,
Medicaid's payments cover the care of more than half of all nursing home
residents.
Use of elder care housing
• There are more than 1.4 million nursing home residents in the United States.
• An individual's average age when he or she moves into a nursing home is 79.
• Women are almost three times as likely to live in nursing homes as men.
• More than 900,000 individuals live in assisted living residences.
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• More than 150,000 individuals receive care and services at an adult day center.
• There are more than 1.1 million seniors in some type of senior housing
community in the United States.
• There are approximately 745,000 older adults who live in continuing care
retirement communities in the United States.
• The average age of an individual moving into a continuing care retirement
community is 78.
• Nearly 1.4 million individuals receive home health services.
• The average lifetime nursing home use per individual is one year, and the average
home care use is a little over 200 visits.
Disappearing Assets
As you can see, the equity in existing homes of the elderly can be quickly consumed and the
elders forced to go on welfare. What a terrible way to finish a wonderful life.