Dramatic Decline in Disability Continues for Older Americans
Disability among older Americans is declining dramatically -- and at an accelerating pace, according to the National Long Term Care Survey (NLTCS). Moreover, the percentage of people age 65 and older with disabilities fell 1.6 percent per year from 1989-1994 and 2.6 percent annually from 1994-1999.
The improvements also are noteworthy for a newly observed decline in disability among black Americans and a decrease of at least 200,000 in the number of people estimated to live in nursing homes.
Researchers also are studying the broader implications of the decline in disability. For example, can continued reductions in disability help control costs for Medicare, Medicaid, or other health care expenditures? Kenneth G. Manton and XiLiang Gu examine one aspect of this question in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences report, looking at the reduction in nursing home residence as one possible area of cost savings. If a nursing home stay costs about $47,200 per year, they note, the reduction in nursing home stays may have avoided several billion dollars in costs from 1994-1999.
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