Reverse Mortgages Can Help with Long-Term Care Expenses, Study Says April 15, 2004 - A new study by The National Council on the Aging (NCOA) shows that using reverse mortgages to pay for long-term care at home has real potential in addressing what remains a serious problem for many older Americans and their families. In 2000, the nation spent $123 billion a year on long-term care for those age 65 and older, with the amount likely to double in the next 30 years. Nearly half of those expenses are paid out of pocket by individuals and only 3 percent are paid for by private insurance; government health programs pay the rest. According to the study, of the 13.2 million who are candidates for reverse mortgages, about 5.2 million are either already receiving Medicaid or are at financial risk of needing Medicaid if they were faced with paying the high cost of long-term care at home. This economically vulnerable segment of the nation’s older population would be able to get $309 billion in total from reverse mortgages that could help pay for long-term care. These results are based on data from the 2000 University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study. “There’s been a lot of speculation whether reverse mortgages could be part of the solution to the nation’s long-term care financing dilemma,” said NCOA President and CEO James Firman. “It’s clear that reverse mortgages have significant potential to help many seniors to pay for long term care services at home.” According to the study, out of the nearly 28 million households age 62 and older, some 13.2 million are good candidates for reverse mortgages. Contact: John Kennedy (206)935-9884; kennedyalki@comcast.net