How many Americans can't afford long-term health care?

How many Americans can't afford long-term health care?

Karl Steinberg (Associate Medical Director, Sharp Mission Park Medical Group) gives expert video advice on: What is the 'Sandwich Generation' in regard to long-term care?; Who can help me make decisions about long-term care?; Why is long-term care such a hot issue right now? and more...

As far as how many Americans can't afford long-term health care, that's a difficult question because if they're destitute enough, if you have less than $3000 dollars in the bank and very little in the way of tangible assets, then you can get Medicaid, so you don't really have to worry as long as you have a certain level of care needs with your activities and daily living. As far as the number of Americans who can't afford long-term care, I don't have a good estimate of the number, but it's a very large number. It can be a devastating prospect when you wind up needing long-term care and you have some money saved, and maybe you wanted to give it to your kids. Or, your life savings essentially can get burned up in a matter of a year or two if you require long-term care at a fairly high level.