Latinx Views on the Roles of Families and Government in Long-Term Care

Latinx older adults have a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease and other chronic conditions that require caregiving. Family and unpaid care, in addition to formal care, have associated costs (e.g., missing work). Ensuring older Latinx adults have access to care will require an understanding of support for policies that tackle the provision and costs of these services. We examine Latinx attitudes and support for policies that cover the costs of long-term care in the United States.

Using data from the Long-Term Care Poll 2013-2022 and the General Social Survey 2012, 2022, we assess Latinx attitudes toward who should be responsible for covering the cost of long-term care for older adults and support for policies that address the cost of long-term care.

Over half of older Latinx adults think Medicare should take on a large responsibility for these costs, suggesting that expanding the current public health insurance programs may receive strong support. Older Latinx adults support policies that would make acquiring long-term care insurance easier. Women are less likely than men to think family should be responsible for the cost of care and more likely to favor policies that support family caregivers.

Despite support for family responsibility for providing care, there is less support for the family covering care costs especially among women compared to men. Results suggest nuanced views among the Latinx population on who should bear long-term care costs and significant gender differences in these views.