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Long-Term Care: Preparing for the Next Generation |
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From The Commonwealth Fund: If our nation is to secure the health and quality of life of future generations of older Americans, long-term care must become a priority on the national health care agenda, along with the uninsured and overall health spending. It is of little surprise that the Commonwealth Fund/Modern Health Care Health Care Opinion Leaders (HCOL) Survey found that the three most urgent challenges facing long-term care are: securing adequate financing, improving the quality of care in long-term care facilities, and developing a workforce that is sufficient in size and skill. A 2007 U.S. Census Bureau survey of 959 Americans between the ages of 21 and 75 years found that while most Americans understand their risk of needing long-term care, they underestimate the cost and overestimate Medicare's role in paying for it. 40 percent believe that Medicare covers the cost of nursing home care for Alzheimer's disease patients (it does not). Public education campaigns on long-term care have done little to help consumers due, in part, to people's reluctance to face their own decline and the lack of accessible long-term care options. The largest proportion of leaders---approximately three-fourths---reported that they felt that the delivery of long-term services---through, for example, a medical home or care coordination services that link patients and families to available care options and follow patients across settings and providers---would most help consumers to make informed choices. The following is a look at where we stand on delivery of services, as well as quality improvement, financing, workforce, and technology within long-term care.
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