Long-Term Care Reform Proposal #1

Long term care is an important but often overlooked component of health care. Each year, millions of American families are affected by the health care system including long-term care. The main goal of long-term care is to help maximize a person’s independence and functioning at a time when a person is unable to be fully independent.1 Yet, when a person finds themselves in need of long-term care in this country, there is a good chance someone else is making the decisions that affect that person’s activities of daily living such as, the time a person goes to bed and when he or she eats their meals.2 Changes in current health care policies are required in order to maintain a high quality health plan that can reach as many individuals as possible.

Although the United States has not addressed the drastic problems it will soon face in long-term health care, developing a new strategy must become a top priority of the health care reform due to the aging of baby boomers. As the rapidly growing population of people over the age of 75 continues to increase, the need for a stable long-term health care plan is only going to become more pertinent. Unfortunately, many people do not find the need to reform long-term care because their age has allowed them to remain independent thus far.2

Home health care is generally far less expensive then long-term care. The cost of providing for an individual in his or her home requires less medical attention and less medical resources.3 Furthermore, individuals are often more comfortable with home health care because it provides a greater level of privacy. Therefore, for those families with a lower socioeconomic status, home health care may be the best option. However, costs vary greatly depending on where a person lives, the level of care, and the number of hours of services needed per week.4

As a part of our health reform, we propose that the federal government, as well as each individual state work together to implement a change in their budgets and policies to better help guide how Medicare and Medicaid is distributed. By implementing a strategy to re-organize the budget, we hope to increase access and lower costs for long-term health care. Each state needs to adjust their budget accordingly based on an individual state’s elderly population. This plan allows flexibility within states themselves and does not force states into dedicating a set amount of money to long-term health care.

The first step to reorganizing the budget, so that it reflects some positive changes, involves re-structuring Medicaid. If Medicaid put more money into at home care compared to nursing homes, long term care costs would decrease, allowing Medicaid to cover and reach a wider access of people.5 Patient quality would also be projected to increase. Quality could increase as a result of more individuals requesting care at home. Additionally, through home care, families would be present more often and rarely would a patient receive a lack of care due to understaffing. Our goal is to shift costs by providing less funds to people in need of long-term care and increase the funds for those receiving home health care. The costs and revenues saved from this shift as well as the increase access for people to receive home health care would be monumental. The savings built through an investment and emphasis on home health care, would allow a greater spectrum of people to be covered under a new plan. Ultimately this plan gears long-term health care in a direction we think is best. By saving money and cutting costs, this plan hopes to increase the quality of care patients receive while also increasing the number of individuals who have access to quality health care. As many baby boomers have seen through the medical attention given to their parents, the current state of long term health care is inconsistent and does not include the independence and individual care one would receive through home health care.

1. Reed, Charles. "Long-term-care reform must provide consumer choice while saving money." The Seattle Times 20 July 2009. Print.

2. Smith, Dennis. "The Role of Long-Term Care in Health Reform." The Heritage Foundation. 03/25/2009. The Heritage Foundation, Web. 1 March 2010.

3. Planning and Funding Care. Comfort Keepers, 2009. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. .

4. National Clearinghouse for Long-term Care Information. U.S. Department of and Human Services, 30 Dec. 2009. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. .

5. Medicaid: Impact on Long-Term Care. Center for Excellence in Assisted Living, Mar. 2009. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. .

-Natalie Jones