The cost of living: How will Congress address affordable long-term care?
Nearly 70 percent of those 65 and older will need some sort of long-term care before they die, and already Americans are spending an estimated $160 billion on long-term care services, such as nursing home stays and in-home care.
Emerging within the health care debate is a national discussion on the cost of long-term care for the elderly and disabled.
A news story out of Miami this week highlighted the plight of Gillian Lloyd who is struggling to continue caring for her aging parents despite the sizable nest egg they put together prior to their retirement.
Her 84-year old mother suffers from Parkinson’s and her 85-year old father has dementia. Their retirement fund of nearly a half-million dollars is almost gone after paying aides for in-home care, and Lloyd doesn’t know where to turn next.
Medicare doe not cover long-term nursing home stays, and Medicaid is unavailable to all but the poorest. With the increasing costs of long-term care on Medicaid, officials say the spending is unsustainable. And yet, the current proposed health care plan in Washington D.C. doesn’t really address long-term care.
The late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s proposal included provisions for Americans to buy long-term care insurance from the government at a minimal cost, but since his death, none of his colleagues have taken up the cause or proposed alternatives, and the Obama administration remains silent on the issue.
As of now, it remains to be seen how Congress will choose to address the issue of long-term care costs, but this is definitely an area of policy to watch.
James D. Perry
