TheHill.com - Health reform, long-term

 

Though unnerved by uncertainties about what Washington is offering, Americans are still demanding healthcare reform.
If one little-discussed element of reform is missing, however, Americans will be surprised, and even distraught, while the country will be ensnared in another kind of healthcare crisis in the near future.

Most Americans believe healthcare reform will provide coverage for a variety of long-term care services. In a survey we conducted for the American Associating of Homes and Services for the Aging, majorities expected that care for people with Alzheimer’s disease (61 percent), in assisted living (57 percent) and assistance for an older or disabled person in taking their medications (64 percent) will all be covered when healthcare reform is enacted.

If the Senate HELP Committee’s bill, or that reported out by the House’s Energy and Commerce Committee, reflect the ultimate shape of what is passed into law, voters’ expectations will be met. Those versions of healthcare reform create a voluntary insurance program where, for premium payments of just a couple of dollars a day, the elderly, the disabled or anyone who needs assistance caring for themselves will receive a benefit of up to about $37,000 a year.

Constituents are expecting reform to provide some mechanism for long-term care, and they will be sorely disappointed if healthcare reform fails to deliver in this arena. More important, the country will be far worse off for having squandered the opportunity to avert an impending crisis.

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TheHill.com - Health reform, long-term