It’s easy to make statistics hide the truth.  What really are the odds that a person will experience a long term care scenario?  In addition, at what point does care become “long term”…after three months?  After 6 months? Many say after 3 months.  Others might think after 6 months, but you can be the judge.

The U.S. Government says that people age 65 and older have a 70% chance of needing long term care at some point.  Therefore, at least 30 % will not need long term care.  In addition, at least 15 % will need care for less than a year.

You can infer from this that at least 55 % of people age 65 and older will need “long term” care at some point, even if you use the 6 month qualifier.  That’s a huge percentage.  For a couple, the odds rise further: over 70% chance that at least one of the spouses will need “long term” care.  That’s why it’s so important to have a long term care plan.