Long-Term Care: The Public’s View

Health and Income Security Brief No. 8 ~ November 2005

Summary: The American public understands that the financing of long-term care is a serious policy problem and seems receptive to change. Nearly three-quarters of baby boomers and seniors are concerned either a great deal or a fair amount about paying for long-term care. Seven in ten believe that government should do more to help people meet the costs of long-term care. Even those less concerned about the problem are troubled that the current system impoverishes people before it helps them. After hearing that Medicaid covers care only after people have exhausted virtually all their own resources, 41 percent of respondents conclude that the system of paying for long-term care “is broken and needs a complete overhaul,” and another 30 percent say that it needs major improvements. This brief describes the findings of a poll of Americans age 40 and over conducted for the National Academy of Social Insurance’s study panel on long-term care.