Rice T
Department of Health Policy and Administration, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27514.
Med Care. 1989 Dec;27(12):1133-47. doi: 10.1097/00005650-198912000-00005.
Nursing-home expenses constitute one of the greatest financial risks for elderly Americans. This study, based largely on the 1985 National Nursing-Home Survey, examines the economic burden posed by nursing-home care during 1985. The results indicate that nursing-home expenses constitute by far the largest out-of-pocket burden of all health care services. It was found that nursing-home care expenses constituted 82.5% of the out-of-pocket expenditures among the elderly who incurred $3,000 or more in such expenditures during 1985. Surprisingly, though, it was found that the frequency in which those in nursing homes "spend-down" their assets and income, thus becoming eligible for Medicaid, is much lower than others have calculated. This may be due in part to the fact that a large proportion of the elderly are already eligible for Medicaid when they begin their nursing-home stays.
疗养院费用是美国老年人面临的最大财务风险之一。这项主要基于1985年全国疗养院调查的研究，考察了1985年期间疗养院护理带来的经济负担。结果表明，疗养院费用是所有医疗服务中自付费用负担最大的一项。研究发现，在1985年此类支出达到或超过3000美元的老年人中，疗养院护理费用占自付支出的82.5%。然而，令人惊讶的是，研究发现疗养院居民“花光”其资产和收入从而符合医疗补助资格的频率，比其他人计算的要低得多。这可能部分是由于很大一部分老年人在开始入住疗养院时就已经符合医疗补助资格。
