The SCAN/UCLA Center for Health Policy Research Long-Term Care Poll

How prepared are Californians for the costs of aging?  The SCAN Foundation​ and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research’s Health Disparities Program attempt to answer this question by conducting a yearly poll of California voters’ attitudes about, and readiness for, the costs of long-term care.

The SCAN/UCLA Center for Health Policy Research poll has consistently found:

• Not ready: A majority of California voters feel unprepared to pay for services if they could no longer care for themselves independently and needed long-term care.
  
• Worried: Majorities across political parties say they are worried about long-term care costs.
  
• Uncovered: Substantial majorities do not have long-term care insurance and do not realize Medicare doesn't cover long-term care.
  

With California’s elderly population projected to double to more than 9 million over the next two decades, the poll provides valuable information to policymakers and others concerned with how to sustain the state’s battered home- and community-based long-term care services.

View all poll findings:

September 2012:

• Poll: Findings from a New Survey Among California Voters 40 and Older on Long-Term Care
  
• Press release: Half of middle-aged voters likely to need long-term care for family member in next 5 years
  

August 2011:

• Poll: California Voters 40 and Older Are Struggling to Make Ends Meet and Financially Unprepared for Growing Older
  
• Press release: Poll finds two-thirds of California voters unprepared for costs of growing older
  

April 2010:

• Poll: New Poll Shows California Voters 40 and Older Largely Unprepared for Costs of Long-Term Care Services
  
• Press release: Poll: Most Californians unprepared for costs of long-term care