CDC Report Presents Comprehensive Look at U.S. Long-Term Care

The vast majority of the 67,000 long-term care facilities in the U.S. employs direct-care workers, a February report (pdf) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found.

Nearly every nursing home (99.4 percent) and hospice facility (97 percent) has at least one full-time equivalent aide on staff, the report shows.

Additionally, 90.4 percent of home health agencies, 80.8 percent of residential care communities, and 70 percent of adult day services centers employ direct-care workers.

The CDC report uses data from long-term services providers across the country to create a comprehensive look at various trends throughout the long-term care sector.

For example, the report shows that majorities of home health agencies (80 percent) and nursing homes (69.8 percent) operate as for-profit businesses, and a slim majority of nursing homes (55.7) are affiliated with a chain.

The CDC also compiled data on consumers of long-term care. Its report shows, for example, that 41.6 percent of nursing home residents are now aged 85 and older.

Additionally, nearly one out of two nursing home residents (62.9 percent) use Medicaid as a payer source, compared to just 9.2 percent of people who receive services from a home health agency.

— by Matthew Ozga