Democrats See Light, Put Long-Term Financing on Platform

Long-term care financing is like a long dormant volcano that is starting to fizz again.

The last time long-term care financing was a serious national topic
of discussion was in the late 1980s into 1990 when The Pepper
Commission, a bi-partisan commission led by the late Rep. Claude Pepper
(D-Fla.) made long-term care financnig part of a national health care
reform blueprint. In fact, in 1990, then Presidential candidate George
H.W. Bush said he’d give long-term care “the attention it deserves.” Then . . . THUD.

The issue is getting new life.

For the first time Democrats have put long-term care financing in
their draft platform “Renewing America’s Promise” that will be approved
in the upcoming convention. As first reported by Future of Aging, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging blog, here is the draft language:

Empowerment and Support of Older Americans and People with Disabilities.

Seniors and people with disabilities should have access to
quality affordable long-term care services, and those services should
be readily available at home and in the community. Americans should not
be forced to choose between getting care and living independent
and productive lives.

Seniors

We will take steps to ensure that our seniors have meaningful
long-term care options that are consistent with their individual needs,
including the option of home care. We believe that we must pay
caregivers a fair wage and train more nurses and health care workers so
as to improve the availability and quality of long-term care. We must
reform the financing of long-term care to ease the burden on seniors
and their families. We will safeguard social security. We will develop
new retirement plans and pension protections that will give Americans a
secure, portable way to save for retirement. We will ensure a safe and
dignified retirement.

Give Input on the Republican Platform

The Republicans will soon announce their platform, but you can still
urge them to include long-term care financing it. Here’s how:

• Visit GOP Platform 2008.
• Click “create platform account.”
• Create an account.
• Click on “submit text entry” and enter your own version of the following platform statement:

“Any effort at health care reform must also include long-term
care financing reform. The responsibility of care giving will only
increase as the baby boom generation ages and needs additional
services. America needs a fiscally responsible approach for long-term
care financing based on the principles developed in the successful
state-based Cash & Counseling programs. These principles, including
a cash benefit, offer the maximum choice, independence, and personal
responsibility for seniors and persons with disabilities, while
ensuring fiscal integrity.”