More than one-quarter of Mainers are expected to be 65 or older by 2030, giving Maine the second-oldest population in the country, according to a new preliminary report.

But will there be room for everyone in Maine’s long-term care facilities? Officials will have to wait until the full report at the end of the month to find out.

“This is kind of the appetizer,” said Diana Scully, director of elder services for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

In the last several years, Maine has worked to reduce nursing home care and increase assisted living and in-home care, allowing elderly residents to live as independently as possible for as long as possible, while cutting the cost of care. There has been no comprehensive look at Maine’s long-term care system and future needs since that shift began.

Scully’s Office of Elder Services commissioned a report a little over a year ago. The goal: Get a sense of what Maine is going to need in the coming years as baby boomers begin to seek care.

Although the Office of Elder Services doesn’t regulate the long-term care industry in Maine, it is often asked to give an opinion on the need for more beds.

“We would get a lot of requests from providers or from legislators wondering about adding beds somewhere for long-term care or adding a program here, or moving it from one place to another,” Scully said. “And it was clear to me there really did not seem to be information available to help us make those decisions.”

The Lewin Group, a national health care consulting firm based in Virginia, issued a 48-page preliminary report in late December. Its analysis shows that the vast majority of nursing home and assisted living residents are 65 years old or older, as are nearly two-thirds of people who receive in-home care. It also projects that the percentage of Mainers 65 and older will nearly double – from 15 percent in 2006 to 27 percent in 2030 – making Maine one of the oldest states in the country, second to Florida by half a percent.

The report also shows that Maine has just over 7,100 nursing home beds, a 4 percent drop since 2002. Androscoggin County lost 13 percent of its beds, and Oxford County lost just over 5 percent, while Franklin County stayed even.

The final report is expected to determine how that loss of nursing home beds will impact Maine’s growing elderly population and whether Maine has what it needs to care for aging baby boomers.

The Maine Health Care Association, which represents over 300 long-term care, rehabilitation and nursing care providers, is one group eager for the final report.

“If we’re right-sized for the population that we’re serving now – which I think we’re pretty close to – what does that mean when you see the dramatic increase over the next 20 years or so?” asked President Richard Erb. “We need to be putting some thought into developing services and facilities for that point. And that’s a real concern for us.”

The final report is expected at the end of this month. The Office of Elder Services plans to meet with providers, elder advocates, long-term care clients and others involved with the issue to discuss the report.

Officials will likely use the report to help them with decisions on elder care funding and the growth of long-term care throughout Maine.