How Would the Presidential Candidates make Long-Term Care Affordable?
From Elder Law Answers website
The elderly population is predicted to swell at least by 5 million before the presidential election of 2012. Every day, more and more families are struggling to pay for the long-term care of an aging relative and millions are assuming that care themselves. Many couples lose a lifetime of savings to a few short years of nursing home care.
Given this, you would think that addressing the issue of caring for America’s aging population would be a major topic in the current presidential contest. You would be wrong.
Over the past several weeks, ElderLawAnswers repeatedly asked the press office of the remaining major candidates what if anything the candidates would do to make long-term care more affordable for Americans. We also asked them whether they themselves had made provisions to pay for their own or a spouse’s long-term care. Not one candidate chose to address these questions.
For clues to the candidates' positions on the issue of long-term care, we turned to their campaign web sites, as well as an AARP Bulletin article on the candidates’ positions on long-term care collected mostly during campaign stops around new Hampshire. Below is a summary of what we learned:
DEMOCRATS
Sen. Hillary Clinton
Sen. Clinton offers by far the most detailed proposals regarding long-term care. She has laid out a $5 billion-a-year agenda to make care better and more affordable for both caregivers and patients. The plan’s twin centerpieces are a proposed $3,000 tax credit for family caregivers and a long-term care insurance tax credit that would cover 75% of long-term care insurance premiums up to $1,500 a year for qualified policies.
To improve accountability and oversight of long-term care facilities, Sen. Clinton wants to triple federal funding for state ombudsmen to $50 million a year. She would also create a national system of background checks for long-term care employees.
Sen. Barack Obama
Sen. Obama has a plan titled “Fulfilling our Covenant with Seniors.” His website states that as president, Sen. Obama “will work to give seniors choices about their care, consistent with their needs and not biased towards institutional care. He will work to reform the financing of long-term care to protect seniors and families. He will work to improve the quality of elder care, including by training more nurses and health care workers.”
Sen. Obama also told AARP he plans to propose tax code changes that would benefit family caregivers who often “are making substantial contributions without a lot of help.”
REPUBLICANS
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told the AARP that, having seen his own mother spend nearly all her savings on long-term care, he is proud that his state was the first to create a pilot program, Project IndepChoices, which reimburses relatives who are able to keep their elderly loved ones at home. “Our plan was very successful. I’d like to see it go national,” AARP quoted him as saying. Huckabee’s website makes no mention of plans to improve long-term care options.
Sen. John McCain
Sen. McCain has focused much of his health care platform around the needs of veterans, but his website says nothing about his plans for long-term care.
AARP reported that he believes that decisions about the care of older family members should remain within each family, and “any way we can help caregivers [offset costs through tax credits or other financial incentives] we should. But it needs to be part of an overall policy regarding health care.”
See also Wall Street Journal, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008, "Shopping for Long-Term Care Coverage."
All candidates have an “Issues” area on their websites. Please click on that tab to see what candidates have to say when it comes to issues like affordable housing, retirement savings, strengthening social security and other issues relevant to senior citizens.