In the United States today, over 1.5 million people live in nursing homes and around 10 million use some type of long term care. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by the year 2050 the numbers are expected to double.

America is becoming overpopulated by seniors who are needing some type of long term care or need to be in a nursing home for assistance. There are currently around 2 million people who work in the home health aide for seniors today. It is becoming the number one growth job in the United States. Workers still make below minimum wage and the quality of these employees has been declining for these types of jobs. As we look to future years with expected numbers to double for seniors who need help the job will keep growing in demand as well.

With close to 1.4 million seniors who are living in nursing homes there are about 16,000 nursing homes across the United States. As the population of these seniors doubles nursing homes are maxing out at full capacity for residents. More and more seniors would prefer to stay at home and receive the proper help and care that they need. This is allowing the demand for nursing homes to slow down a little bit but not much.

The importance of planning ahead and making sure you know what to expect for future years can really benefit us. Talk about the different options with a family member or loved one and try and get together an idea of where you plan to live, how you plan to pay for it, and what you are going to do if a chronic illness or disability affects you or a loved one.

If you or someone you love is interested in learning more about Long Term Care Insurance be sure to visit: LTC TREE for more information.