Highlights of 2005 AARP Long Term Care (LTC) Survey
LTC Preferences
• Almost universally respondents report it is very (83%) or somewhat (12%) important to have LTC services that would enable them and family members to remain in their own homes.
• Of the one in five (21%) respondents who report they have a friend or relative in a nursing home, nearly two in five (37%) say the person would return home if supports were available and affordable.
• Three in four respondents report that it should be a top (32%) or high (43%) priority for Michigan to have affordable LTC choices.
LTC Quality
• Three in five registered voters who have had experience with the LTC system in the past five years report that it is very (30%) or fairly (30%) difficult to find quality nursing home care.
• More than half of respondents with LTC experience say that it is very (26%) or fairly (28%) difficult to find quality agencies and caregivers who will come into their homes.
• More than half of respondents with LTC experience also report that it is very (23%) or fairly (30%) difficult to find information about how to judge a quality residential care facility or home care agency.
• Nearly all Michigan voters age 45 and older believe that appropriate amounts of face-to-face or hands-on-care are very (80%) or somewhat (15%) important to the quality of LTC services.
• Nearly all respondents report that it is very (90%) or somewhat (7%) important that relatives and friends are being treated by qualified health care workers.
• Nearly all voters age 45 and over strongly (73%) or somewhat (19%) support Michigan legislation to strengthen enforcement of standards to protect the health and safety of nursing home residents.
Health Care Benefits for Nursing Home and Home Health Care Workers
• Nearly all Michigan voters age 45 and over believe that it is very (74%) or somewhat (19%) important for health care workers to receive health insurance.
• Nearly all respondents say that having health care insurance is very (73%) or somewhat (21%) important to keeping health care workers in their positions.
LTC Affordability
• Nearly six in ten respondents report that they are not very (19%) or not at all (38%) confident they could afford the cost of LTC for five years.
• More than half of respondents with LTC experience indicate that it is very (29%) or fairly (25%) difficult to find information about government services that provide or help fund LTC.
Health and LTC Funding
• When informed about proposed across the board cuts to balance the state budget, more than nine in ten Michigan voters age 45 and older say it is very (74%) or somewhat (21%) important for the state of Michigan to maintain current funding levels for health and LTC services.
• Even if it meant an increase in taxes, nearly eight in ten voters strongly (45%) or
somewhat (33%) support the state increasing funding for home and community-based care services.
• More than two in three Michigan voters strongly (35%) or somewhat (30%) support the use of estate taxes to help raise money for LTC services.
This telephone survey conducted by Woelfel Research, Inc. included a statewide sample of 800 Michigan voters age 45 and older and oversamples of 200 Michigan residents in each of two areas: Kent County/Grand Rapids and Western Wayne/Oakland County. The main sample has a margin of error of 3.54% and the oversamples have a margin of error of 7%. The complete survey report can be found at http://research.aarp.org.
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