Almost 1.5 million people currently live in nursing homes. According to recent statistics, there are 17,258 nursing homes in the United States with more than 1.8 million beds. Between 1985 and 1995, the percentage of nonprofit nursing homes has grown each year, while the percentage of for-profit homes has decreased. The average age for admission to a nursing home is 79.
Women are almost three times as likely to be in nursing homes as men.
However, the costs vary greatly by region. According to 1995 statistics, the length of stay in a nursing home for an individual aged 65 or over is 838 days. Seventy-nine percent of nursing facilities are Medicare and Medicaid certified. Thirteen percent are only Medicaid certified and 8 percent are only certified by Medicare. Nursing homes that participate are inspected once a year by a team of state surveyors.