Informal And Formal Home Care For Older Adults With Disabilities Increased, 2004-16

Rates of informal home care use among older adults with disabilities increased from 2004 to 2016, such that in 2016 almost three-quarters of these adults received informal home care. Informal care remains the most common source of home care, even though formal home care use grew at almost twice the rate, with a 6-percentage-point increase to 36.9 percent in 2016.

The article discusses the 36.9 percent increase in rates of informal and formal home care use of older adults with disabilities in the U.S from 2004 to 2016. Topics covered include the engagement of caregivers in the absence of a national system to pay for long-term services, estimates of home care received by cohorts of these adults, and race and regional variations in formal versus informal home care. Also noted is the importance of health care differences in policy making.