The trends are the same in rural and urban America. Research shows a strong correlation between old age, chronic conditions, disability, and the use of long-term care services. Younger people with disabilities are also living longer, adding to the demand for services and supports. This convergence
of trends places an enormous strain on the United States’ long-term care system, and Medicare and Medicaid costs are expected to soar. Twenty-three percent of all households are located in rural America. Of those households, 23 percent, or six million, are headed by seniors. As a recent HAC fact sheet outlines, rural senior households overwhelmingly reside in their own homes. According to HAC’s tabulation of the 2009 American Housing Survey, 89 percent of nonmetro seniors own their homes. That is an increase of 4 percent from the 1999 American Housing Survey.