Long-Term Care in New York: Home Care Workers Need Fair Pay

New York voters 50-plus would prefer to receive long-term care at home if they need it and have concerns about nursing home care, according to a recent AARP survey. They also support increasing long-term care services and funding to help seniors live independently at home as they age. 

Key Findings

• Nearly nine in 10 New York voters age 50 and older (87%) would prefer to receive long-term care at home with caregiver assistance, if they or a loved one needed such care.
• Nearly nine in 10 (88%) say it is extremely or very important to have long-term care services that would help them or a loved one stay at home for as long as possible.
• More than nine in 10 (93%) say it is extremely or very important to be able to choose where long-term care services are provided.
• More than nine in 10 (94%) support (strongly or somewhat) increasing community and state long-term care services to help seniors live independently at home as they age. Support is high across political parties.
• More than nine in 10 (93%) also support (strongly or somewhat) increasing funding so more seniors can receive long-term care at home. Support is high across political parties.
• New Yorkers 50-plus are concerned about nursing home care. More than nine in 10 voters 50 and older are extremely or very concerned about the quality of care (96%) or not having enough staff to provide care (93%).

Policy Recommendations

New York should prioritize programs and services that allow people to remain in their homes, delaying mostly unwanted and much costlier moves to taxpayer-funded nursing homes and other institutional settings. The state as a matter of policy should ensure that older New Yorkers who require long-term care have the opportunity to stay in their homes, as the vast majority want, where they are happier and care can be delivered less expensively.

Methodology

AARP New York commissioned a telephone survey among 1,201 registered voters age 50-plus in New York to learn their views on long-term care. This study included an oversample of 200 registered voters who identify their race as African American or Black and 200 registered voters who identify their ethnicity as Hispanic or Latino. The interviews averaged 17 minutes in length and were conducted in English and Spanish. Voters were interviewed from November 16 to December 12, 2021. The data collection was performed by ADRG. The data are weighted by age, gender, race and ethnicity, and AARP membership status.

For more information, please contact Terri Guengerich at tguengerich@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.