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Medicare News
Ohio, Pennsylvania Join Federal Effort to Increase
Planning for Long-Term Care
‘There’s a widespread misconception that Medicare
pays for long-term care’
 Jan. 16, 2008 - Ohio and Pennsylvania will join a
federal program created to increase the public’s awareness about the
importance of long-term care (LTC) planning. The “Own Your Future”
education effort includes information on various ways senior citizens
can finance long-term care, according to Health and Human Services (HHS).
The “Own Your Future” initiative, administered by
HHS’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Administration on
Aging (AoA), and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and
Evaluation (ASPE), is designed to help Americans take an active role in
planning ahead for their future long-term care needs.
“This is an aggressive education and outreach
effort designed to promote long-term care planning,” HHS Secretary Mike
Leavitt said.
“We are working closely with officials in Ohio and
Pennsylvania and the other states already in the program to promote the
importance of planning so all Americans will have the resources and
information available to begin planning for their long-term care early
on in life,”
“There’s a widespread misconception that Medicare
pays for long-term care, but in fact, it only pays for very short term
stays in skilled nursing facilities following discharge from a
hospital,” said Acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems.
“With the average monthly cost of a nursing home
nearly $5,000, and stays that exceed several years, it’s critical for
people to start planning while they still have the ability to choose the
long-term care service and finance options that are best for them.”
Approximately 13 million Americans needed long-term
care in 2000. This number is expected to grow substantially in the next
30 years as the population ages. The Census Bureau estimates that the
percentage of the population 65 and older will rise from 12.6 percent in
2000 to 20.5 percent in 2040, and the percentage of the population aged
85 and older will rise from 1.6 percent in 2000 to 3.8 percent in 2040.
“These demographic changes point to a predictable
increase in demand for long-term care services. The support of each
state is critical in helping us get the message out on planning for
future care needs,” added Weems.
Ohio and Pennsylvania were chosen for the
creativity of their complementary activities, the state resources
available to further the “Own Your Future” campaign goals, and their
ability to identify and incorporate partners beyond the participating
state agencies. One of Ohio’s enhancements to the program is offering
free, in-home long-term care consultation, while Pennsylvania will
establish an innovative, statewide long term living public education and
outreach unit to provide information about the importance of LTC
planning.
This spring, governors of the two participating
states will send letters to all households in the state with residents
between the ages of 45-65. The letters will address the importance of
long-term care planning and encourage recipients to order a free
Long-Term Care Planning Kit.
The kit features information about Medicare and
Medicaid, ways to plan ahead, putting one’s legal affairs in order, and
how to assess private financing options and state-specific resources.
The letters will reach approximately 3.3 million households in the two
states.
The “Own Your Future” initiative is part of an
ongoing effort to increase awareness about what public long term-care
programs actually pay for, the risks of needing long-term care services
and how people can prepare to pay for their long-term care.
To date, over 11 million letters signed by
governors in 16 states have been mailed to households with individuals
in the target audience and from those letters more than 550,000
Long-Term Care Planning Kits have been mailed.
“Better planning for long-term care is likely to
increase people’s ability to remain at home with better use of their own
resources, and may also reduce pressures on public programs,” said HHS
Assistant Secretary for Aging Josefina Carbonell.
18 States Now in Program
Ohio and Pennsylvania were two of 11 applicants to
join the current 16 states participating in the “Own Your Future”
initiative. The other participating states are Arkansas, Georgia,
Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Jersey, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and
Washington.
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 provides $3
million in 2008 to fund the National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care
Information (located at
www.longtermcare.gov).
This AoA-hosted Web site is a collaborative effort
among AoA, CMS, and ASPE that provides comprehensive information about
long-term care planning, services and financing options, along with
tools to help people begin the planning process.
“This Web site is a great tool that can help people
take personal responsibility when planning for their long-term care.
HHS is working hard to ensure we provide useful information so adults
can make meaningful decisions for their own future aging needs,”
Secretary Leavitt said.
“The initiative is designed to promote
independence, choice, and dignity by giving Americans more control over
their long-term care service delivery options,” said Acting CMS
Administrator Weems.
“We are supporting better options for financing
long-term care, meaningful incentives that make planning attractive and
increased awareness about what public programs pay and what Americans
should plan to pay themselves.”
For additional resources on Skilled Nursing
Facility (SNF) coverage and for help finding and comparing SNFs, the
booklet “Medicare Coverage of Skilled Nursing Facility Care” can be
found at
http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/10153.pdf.
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