10 Things to Know About LTC and Assisted Living

1. 91% of assisted living residents say they are safer living in an assisted living community than they would be living on their own. (Assisted Living Federation of America’s 2013 Survey of Assisted Living Residents)
2. The number of people in the United States who need long-term care is expected to increase to 27 million in 2050. (Centers for Disease Control report: National Survey of Residential Care Facilities)
3. In 2010, 17% of residential care communities reported that they used electronic health records. (Centers for Disease Control report: Use of Electronic Health Records in Residential Care Communities)
4. The 10 most common chronic conditions among residents were: high blood pressure (57%); Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias (42%); heart disease (34%); depression (28%); arthritis (27%); osteoporosis (21%); diabetes (17%); chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and allied conditions (15%); cancer (11%); and stroke (11%) (Centers for Disease Control report: Residents Living in Residential Care Facilities: United States, 2010)
5. As of 2010, there were 31,100 assisted living communities nationwide with the capacity of 971,900 individuals. (Overview of Assisted Living from the American Association of Homes and Services)
6. The number of U.S. individuals between age 65 and 84 will rise by 38.8% from 2010 and 2020, and the population over age 85 will increase by 18.7%. (U.S. Census Bureau)
7. Roughly 7-in-10 people over age 65 will require some type of long-term care services. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
8. Analysis of general liability and professional liability (GL/PL) claims data from long-term care providers on a national level shows long-term care liability loss rates are increasing by 4% annually. (Aon’s 2012 Long Term Care General Liability and Professional Liability Actuarial Analysis)
9. The Affordable Care Act has provisions that are intended to encourage the coordination of care givers and to reduce costs, but that may give rise to new avenues of liability. (Aon’s 2012 Long Term Care General Liability and Professional Liability Actuarial Analysis)
10. Malpractice costs and the tort environment are often major considerations in the decision by long-term care services providers to locate and invest in long-term care beds and services in a specific state. (A market commentary from Dom Colaizzo, chairman of the National Health Care Practice at Aon Risk Solutions)