Foundation For The Future Of Aging



 

 

Think long term on health

By Teresa Heinz Kerry and Jeffrey Lewis
Saturday, May 23, 2009 - Added 14h ago http://www.bostonherald.com

While Congress focuses on redesigning our health care system to address the needs of the more than 40 million uninsured, the one place it will assiduously avoid is long-term care.

Every morning millions of women wake up to face troubled economic times and the increased anxiety about how their older years will play out and whether their own aging parents will be able to continue to live on their own.

For women who are single, divorced or widowed, they not only shoulder this burden alone, they face the stark economic reality that they are living longer with fewer resources. And it is women who largely assume the responsibility of providing care to aging relatives.

From the perspective of those who provide care and those who need it, the question of long-term care has been working its way into the American conversation. While Congress focuses on redesigning our health care system to address the needs of the more than 40 million uninsured, the one place it will assiduously avoid is long-term care. And yet the reality is that long-term care is the real American health care crisis.

As women age and start to need help, many dread the idea of being dependent on their children. They don't want to be a burden, but millions of moms don't have the financial resources to get the care they need. Many are surprised when they learn that Medicare typically only pays for acute and primary care. When a medical crisis passes, the main emphasis of Medicare is emptying the hospital bed for the next occupant. The patient is left to her own devices, which is often relying on her kids to provide care.

A recent study shows that two-thirds of American seniors recognize the need to plan for long-term care. Only 12 percent feel they are adequately prepared in this regard. For them and their children, the need to think about long-term care is pressing, and the time to plan for it is now.

The Older Women's League reports that about seven out of every 10 adult children who help their older parents are female.

Women's acceptance of this responsibility has a profound effect on our families and on our society. Because women accept this role, their parents and loved ones are often able to enjoy the significant physical and emotional comfort of staying in their own homes, even when they can no longer care for themselves. By remaining in their homes, these family members don't depend on public money or public facilities for their needs.

In purely economic terms, researchers estimate the value of services family caregivers provide at $148 billion to $188 billion a year. This unpaid labor doesn't begin to reflect the physical and emotional toll such work takes on family caregivers.

It isn't easy to wade through information about long-term care planning. Some of it is well intended but confusing. And some is only intended to make a buck off people's vulnerability and confusion.

But, the fact is most Americans - because of social needs, disability, trauma or illness - will require long-term care services at some point in their lives. Focusing on those questions now not only helps bring you peace of mind, it can save you and your family from potentially devastating expenses later.

The Heinz Family Philanthropies has partnered with The Foundation for the Future of Aging in developing the "10 Questions to Answer" series of information cards to assist consumers and family caregivers who are planning for, choosing and managing long-term care. This series guides consumers in thinking about all of the available long-term care options, while focusing on quality of life.

Having a plan in place gives people and their families peace of mind while sparing them the emotional upheaval that comes from making decisions in the midst of a health crisis.

With long-term care there are no easy answers. Our goal is a simple one - provide information to help everyone understand they are not alone.

Teresa Heinz Kerry is chairman of the Heinz Family Philanthropies and Jeffrey Lewis is the president.

1201 L Street, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005
phone: 202.898.2854