Analyzing data collected 1982-2011, Vicki Freedman and Brenda Spillman found that older black Americans spent more years needing help with daily living than white Americans. They say: “Understanding long-range trends in longevity and disability is useful for projecting the likely impact of the baby-boom generation on long-term care utilization and spending…. Public health measures directed at older black adults – particularly women – are needed to offset impending pressures on the long-term care delivery system as the result of population aging.”

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