CHICAGO, March 16, 2016—According to a new issue brief investigating experiences and attitudes regarding long-term care, very few Hispanics ages 40 and older in America report planning for long-term care, and they are worried about the lack of preparation. A majority (59 percent) say it is at least somewhat likely they will need care in the future, though few (12 percent) say they have planned a great deal or quite a bit for it.

The original study that provided the data for the issue brief, conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research with funding from The SCAN Foundation, explored person-centered care experiences and the special challenges faced by those who provide ongoing living assistance to elderly loved ones while also providing financial support to children, among other important matters.

“This trend study of Hispanics’ views on long-term care is the only one of its kind,” said Trevor Tompson, director of the AP-NORC Center. “While Hispanics expect to need long-term care at rates similar to non-Hispanics, they are more concerned about their preparation for that care. Very few Hispanics, 23 percent, say they are confident they will have the financial resources they need to pay for long-term care needs.”

Key findings from the survey include:

  • Six in 10 Hispanics say it is at least somewhat likely they will need ongoing living assistance someday. Just 1 in 10 Hispanics report having done a great deal or quite a bit of planning for their ongoing living assistance needs while 6 in 10 have done only a little or none at all. All of these rates are comparable to those of the country as a whole.
  • The number who are not planning is on the decline from 2014, with more Hispanics saying they have undertaken specific planning actions like setting aside money to pay for long-term care and looking up information on aging issues and ongoing living assistance in 2015 compared to 2014.
  • Lower-income Hispanics are the least likely to be planning for care. Those with incomes of at least $50,000 are more than five times as likely as those with lower incomes to report that they
    are doing much planning for their own long-term care needs (26 percent vs. 5 percent).
  • More Hispanics (47 percent) than non-Hispanics (32 percent) say they are either a great deal or quite a bit concerned about not planning enough for their future care.
  • Less than a quarter of Hispanics express confidence that they will have the financial resources to pay for their own care as they get older.
  • A majority (53 percent) of Hispanics expect to rely on Medicaid for ongoing living assistance someday.

About the Survey
This study was conducted by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and funded by The SCAN Foundation. This telephone survey was conducted April 7-May 15, 2015, and reached 1,735 adults nationwide ages 40 and older. This sample includes an oversample of Hispanics ages 40 and older. The random digit dial sample was provided by a third-party vendor, and the overall margin of error was +/- 3.2 percentage points. The Hispanic sample’s margin of sampling error was +/- 6.0 percentage points. A full description of the study methodology can be found at www.longtermcarepoll.org.

The proper description of the survey’s authorship is as follows: This study was conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, with funding from The SCAN Foundation.

About The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research
The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research taps into the power of social science research and the highest-quality journalism to bring key information to people across the nation and throughout the
world.
www.apnorc.org

The Associated Press (AP) is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world’s population sees news from AP.
www.ap.org

NORC at the University of Chicago is an independent research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, NORC has conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with NORC to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.
www.norc.org

The two organizations have established The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research to conduct, analyze, and distribute social science research in the public interest on newsworthy topics, and to use the power of journalism to tell the stories that research reveals.

About The SCAN Foundation
The SCAN Foundation is dedicated to advancing a coordinated and easily navigated system of high-quality services for older adults that preserve dignity and independence.
http://www.TheSCANFoundation.org/

###

Contact: For more information, contact Eric Young for NORC at young-eric@norc.org or (703) 217-6814 (cell); Ray Boyer for NORC at boyer-ray@norc.org or (312) 330-6433; or Paul Colford for The Associated Press at pcolford@ap.org.