Federal and state policymakers increasingly are interested in creating a public social insurance program for long-term care in the US. Even some Democratic presidential hopefuls have raised the issue, though still only in general terms. That growing interest is great news, and long past due. But what should such a model look like? Designers face a handful of critical high-level [...]
Two years ago, the Long-Term Care Financing Collaborative proposed a public catastrophic long-term care insurance program. In effect, people would use private insurance, savings, or home equity to pay for the first few years of their care needs, then the government would pick up costs for people with true catastrophic needs. Today, two highly-respected long-term care experts offered an important [...]
A powerful bipartisan group of U.S. senators wants to improve medical care for older Americans with chronic disease. By doing so, they are taking an important step in improving the health and quality of life of these seniors. But so far at least, they are focusing on only half the problem. While older people with chronic conditions do need improved [...]
Why is there no catastrophic long-term care insurance? It could benefit millions of middle-income people who are able to pay for a few years of services and supports on their own but need to protect themselves against the risk of a very long period of need that would impoverish all but a handful of us. Even though catastrophic coverage is a [...]
Nearly two months ago, Congress created a commission to recommend reforms to the current long-term care system. So what has happened since? Not much. Leaders of Congress have appointed members to serve on the panel but President Obama—who has three of 15 picks-- has not yet made his choices. The commission can’t select a chairman, find a staff, or set an agenda [...]
People often say that the patients most at risk in the U.S. health system are the elderly who suffer from multiple chronic diseases. But it may be that a subset of these seniors—those with chronic disease who also need personal assistance with routine activities—are in the most jeopardy. An important 2011 research paper finds they are the most costly to care [...]
Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn) warned today that long-term care financing is "a major train wreck" and "heading for a national crisis." Corker, the senior Republican on the Senate Aging Committee, said he was very worried about the viability of private long-term care insurance and added , "there is no doubt there is a public sector role" in the future of financing [...]