Supporting the Goals and Ideals of a Long-Term Care Awareness Week

Floor Speech

SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF A LONG-TERM CARE AWARENESS WEEK -- (House of Representatives - October 15, 2007)

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Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 133, a bipartisan resolution supporting the goals and ideals of Long-Term Care Awareness Week during the week of November 4 through 10, 2007. I would like to thank Chairman Dingell and committee staff for moving this resolution to the floor, and the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin) for yielding to me once again.

I would like to urge my colleagues to support this commonsense, bipartisan resolution which I introduced with the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany), along with the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Ferguson).

I am proud that this resolution has earned the support of AARP, Families USA, the Alzheimer's Association, the National Council on Aging, the American Council of Life Insurers, the Association of Health Insurance Advisors, and America's Health Insurance Plans. They have come together in recognizing the immediacy of the need to raise awareness about planning for long-term care needs.

This resolution is part of my commitment to addressing the many challenges associated with long-term care. Designating a week to focus on long-term care is one meaningful step we can take.

Our Nation needs to address these issues sooner rather than later so that Americans are anticipating and fully prepared to meet their long-term care needs.

Studies show that many Americans don't have a clear perception of what long-term care costs and to what extent long-term care is covered by public programs.

Experts have projected strong growth and demand for long-term care services as the baby-boom generation grows older and have emphasized the related challenge of paying for long-term care services.

The Department of Health and Human Services has reported that approximately 60 percent of people over the age of 65 will need some kind of long-term care services.

The Government Accountability Office has reported projections of significant growth in spending on long-term care services for seniors such that spending could approach $379 billion by 2050.

Our Nation's long-term care challenges will have a particularly significant impact on women, who make up more than 58 percent of Americans over the age of 65 and greater than two-thirds of people 85 years of age or older.

Yet when it come to preparing to meet these costs, many Americans are not adequately prepared. For instance, a 2006 AARP survey on the cost of long-term care found that 60 percent of people age 45 and older said they believe Medicare will pay for extended nursing home stay, which it does not. And more than 50 percent of people age 45 or older said they believe Medicare covers assisted living, which it does not.

And private-pay costs for this kind of care continue to go up. In South Dakota, the average cost of a year in a private room in a nursing home is $53,000, and a double-occupancy room averages well over $47,000. According to one recent national survey, a year in a private room in a nursing home averages more than $74,000, and a double-occupancy room averages nearly $66,000 a year.

An essential step in meeting the challenges posed by long-term care needs and costs is raising awareness about planning for long-term care.

Education will help people understand the likelihood of needing long-term care, the types and costs of available services, and the options to help plan and pay for those services. The more people know, the greater opportunity people have to plan for their future and the more likely they are to receive the services they need in the setting of their choice.

That's the motivation for this Long-Term Care Awareness Week resolution. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan resolution. By passing it today, supporting the goals and ideals of Long-Term Care Awareness Week during the week of November 4 through 10, we can take another step forward to prepare our constituents and the Nation to meet the already high cost of long-term care and the growing challenges ahead.

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