Health care is a critically important issue given the numerous problems that have added to our nation's health care crisis. As the estimated 76 million baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 become elderly, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will nearly double as shares of the economy by 2035 and the federal government must prepare for this ahead of time.
Long Term Care
Many seniors continue to express their frustration regarding the cost and quality of long-term care. Private insurance pays just 13% of long-term costs since few Americans have long-term insurance policies. That leaves the public sector – primarily Medicare and Medicaid – to pick up the tab for growing costs. Nearly one-third of all Medicaid spending goes to long-term care, and three-quarters of that amount is for beneficiaries who are dually-eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. The Medicare and Medicaid systems simply cannot absorb these costs in the long-term. Medicaid, alone, costs $300 billion per year. For these reasons, I am a cosponsor of H.R. 2682, The Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act of 2005, which seeks to make long-term care coverage more affordable. Individuals without long-term care coverage are often forced to spend their life savings and sell their homes to pay for their long-term care expenses. After they have depleted their personal savings and assets, Medicaid (and, thus, taxpayers) picks up nearly all of their long-term care expenses. Clearly, this is a path to hardship for American families trying to care for a loved one and for American taxpayers. We must empower Americans to plan for future health care needs and ease the burden on public health programs.
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