 An Economic Analysis of Life CareJonathan Feinstein () and Edward G. Keating No 4155, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc Abstract: Life care communities offer long term care to the elderly in the context of a residential community. Residents move into a life care community while still relatively young (though typically past age 65), initially occupying an independent living unit situated in a living complex similar to a retirement community. Later, when a resident requires more intensive care, she moves to an on-site nursing facility. We present an economic analysis of the life care industry. Our model includes a detailed specification of elderly couples' utility, a description of elderly morbidity and mortality experiences, and a formulation of the life care contract. Using extensive computer simulations we show that life care offers two main advantages to elderly as compared with stand-alone nursing homes: (i) reduced mobility costs and nearness to spouse and friends when sick; and (ii) insurance, linked to a rebate paid to the couple's heirs. We also investigate regulation of life care and the effects stemming from the risk of operator bankruptcy. Date: 1992-09 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nbr:nberwo:4155 Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from Access Statistics for this paper More papers in NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.. Contact information at EDIRC. |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.