The Aging at Home Association follows ongoing developments, debates and changes in public policy related to long-term care, home care and caregiving, and government programs to support people’s health needs as they age.   For our members and visitors to our site interested in policy issues related to aging at home, we continue to identify new and important studies and issue briefs about the role of public policy in creating pathways for aging at home affordably and supporting senior health and wellness.  We also help our members understand important benefits and developments in the Medicare program that affect senior access to care and offer educational materials about the role of state Medicaid programs in providing facility-based and other forms of long-term care.

The Future of Long Term Care

Across the country, policymakers, researchers, consumer groups, health care organizations and individuals and families are focusing on ways to improve our current system of long-term care, strengthening low-income programs and filling gaps in care for middle income people needing long-term services and supports.  Different types of promising solutions to financing and care delivery problems in long-term care are emerging from research and thought leadership.  The Aging at Home Association is following the ongoing conversations and debates about the role of public programs versus private solutions and offers resources below.  

Long-Term Care | Milken Institute: The Milken Institute’s Center for the Future of Aging explores the financial challenges seniors and society face in paying for needed long-term care services. It offers summary recommendations for improving long-term care, including encouraging more private sector innovation in insurance models.

Click here to learn more

Solving the Long-Term Care Financing Puzzle in the Wake of COVID-19 – Pension Research Council: This article from the Milken Institute’s Center for the Future of Aging and Wharton’s Pension Research Council highlights the continued need for innovation in long-term care financing, and notes specific opportunities with hybrid products that combine life insurance and long-term care coverage.

Click here to learn more

LTSS Financing | LeadingAge: This report explore the possibilities of private solutions to make long-term services and supports more accessible and affordable, including the use of managed cash benefits.

Click here to learn more

Financing Long-Term Services and Supports | Bipartisan Policy Center: This report by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) shows that the number of people needing long-term services and supports will double by 2050 and explores approaches using private health insurance, Medicaid and catastrophic coverage.

Click here to learn more

Improving the Financing of Long-Term Care | Bipartisan Policy Center: This report by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) describes the high cost of long-term services and supports and the number of people expected to use those services. It notes that more than half of surveyed individuals had done little or no planning for their own needs for ongoing living assistance; only 21 percent had done substantial planning. 1/3 had set aside money for potential future care needs.

It also explores expanded options for private coverage of long-term care, including lower-cost, limited-benefit approaches.

Click here to learn more

America’s Long-Term Care Crisis: Challenges in Financing and Delivery | Bipartisan Policy Center: This report by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) offers insights into the costs of long-term care and the need to find new solutions for our aging population.

Click here to learn more