Washington, D.C. — In a new issue brief, the Center for American Progress recommends two reforms to help make long-term care more affordable and allow more individuals to live independently in their homes for longer periods of time.
The need for long-term care can arise at any age, but the doubling of the elderly population over the coming decades means a substantial increase in the number of people who will need long-term care. The first of the Baby Boom generation reached the traditional retirement age of 65 three years ago, and each day for the next 18 years, about 8,000 more Americans will reach that milestone. By the year 2050, 1 in 5 Americans will be over age 65. Long-term care will play a larger and larger role in health care, but few Americans are currently prepared for the time and expense of caring for elderly family members.
“To respond to this challenge, policymakers will need to develop a broad-based approach that melds public insurance, private insurance, and private caregiving.” said Topher Spiro, co-author of the brief and Vice President for Health Policy at the Center. “But that does not mean we cannot take more immediate steps to address the affordability of private insurance and increase the number of trained caregivers.”
The brief recommends new refundable tax credits to help individuals plan for their future long-term care needs. Policies purchased using these credits will include a number of consumer protections. It also recommends creating a new service-corps program to increase the number of caregivers.
“These targeted policies will help millions of Americans plan for and afford their long-term care needs while policymakers consider comprehensive changes to improve how our nation pays for these services,” explained Maura Calsyn, a co-author of the brief and Director of Health Policy at the Center.
Click here to read the issue brief.
For more information on this topic, contact Tom Caiazza at 202.481.7141 or [email protected].