Iowa Caucuses - New Hampshire and long-term care issues

Long-term care and the candidates ... where they stand.

Darien, IL (PRWEB) January 23, 2004 -- Senator John Kerry surprised many with his win in Iowa. Pundits speculate that the general election will be won – or lost – on the topic of national security. However, this might be the first presidential election that the phrase “long-term care” has been brought up by candidates. What might that mean for long-term care (LTC)? A nationally known expert in long-term care planning, Darien, Illinois resident Matt McCann, has some ideas.

On January 13, current Democrat front-runner John Kerry released his “Compact with the Greatest Generation.” It has 4 key components:

1)     Assuring Quality Nursing Home Care;

2)     Protect Medicaid Support;

3)     Give Seniors More Options;

4)     Support Caregivers.

None of these components is likely to change the status quo of LTC planning. Middle-class and upper-middle-class Americans will still struggle to privately pay for the care that they want – in their own home. McCann says there is only one option that offers financial relief to citizens who want home care – and don't want to drain their life savings: LTC insurance. But less than 10% of seniors have policies. Sales of LTC insurance has increased dramatically for those in the preretirement years, 50 to 65. Still, many people don't plan and are in denial of the risk. Many seniors have waited too late and their health does not allow for the purchase of LTC insurance.

Component #3 (Give Seniors More Options) reads ” Allow Medicaid to pay for more alternative care outside of nursing homes to allow more Americans to age in their own homes.” This option already exists in some states – which have applied for and been granted waivers under the federal Medicaid program. On its face, less-expensive home care sounds like it makes sense. But for many years politicians and social scientists have warned of the “woodwork effect.” They speculate that if Medicaid covered home care, seniors would come “out of the woodwork” and apply for this benefit.

"The problem with Medicaid homecare is the quality of care. We already know that the quality of care in Medicaid nursing facilities is not the best. With state reimbursement rates going down, we expect this problem to continue. Homecare providers in the Medicaid system, when allowed, will not attract the best employees because of poor reimbursement rates. Plus, don't forget, Medicaid is still welfare and a person must spend down assets. For most people this is not something they want to go through. People work hard to accumulate assets and they don;t want to throw all that money away. In addition, most people want to protect the lifestyle of the healthy spouse. This means we must protect people's assets. LTC insurance does this," said McCann

What do John Edwards and Howard Dean say about LTC?

Edwards proposes to double federal support for respite care (respite care is temporary caregiving to allow primary caregivers a break – to take a vacation, for example). He also proposes to recruit and retain more LTC providers by treating them with respect and improving conditions at nursing homes.

Dean offers a 2 ½ page whitepaper on Long-term Care. Key components include: 1) give states flexibility to offer home care without a federal waiver; 2) invest modest federal dollars in home and community-based care; 3) to combat elder abuse, create a national registry of LTC workers; 4) require consumer protections for any LTC insurance policy to be eligible for a deduction; 5) earmark more National Institute of Health resources to study prevention and treatment of disabilities in our aging population.

Saying that no senior citizen should have to drain their life savings to get the long-term care they need, Senator Joe Lieberman has unveiled a plan to ease the burden on seniors and help their families afford reliable, high-quality long-term care.

Among other steps, Lieberman would give a tax deduction for private long-term care insurance premiums and create a new tax credit of up to $3,000 for family caregivers.

President Bush has supported the idea of private long-term care insurance since his first campaign. The President has proposed in his budget an above-the-line tax deduction for long-term care insurance.

McCann says that the high costs of long-term care along with the very high risk of any person needing care in their lifetime, combined with the ever aging population in the United States, makes it impossible for the federal government to pay for everyone's long-term care.

"The federal government has really made it clear since 1996 that people with assets need to plan with long-term care insurance. The only reason some people don't look into LTC insurance is denial. Even though 1 out of every 2 people who reach the age of 50 will need some form of care during their lifetime, some people will say it will be the other guy. As medical science continues to get better we all will continue to live longer. Things that used to kill us don't. This will continue the high risk of people needing some help before hey pass," McCann said.

McCann has a web site with LTC insurance information, www.McCannLTC.com. He can be reached at his Willowbrook, Illinois office at 800-959-7055 or by email at Matt@McCannLTC.com.
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