Description: Presented at the Living to 100 Symposium, January 2011. Long-term care LTC insurance is frequently not covered by national social insurance programs. When costs are expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product, the future burden of financing LTC would not lead to unbearable tax levels and is not particularly large in comparison to the projected costs for pensions and health care. After identifying the breadth of definitions of LTC needs, it is argued that LTC is an insurable risk. The paper concludes that LTC social insurance is affordable in developed countries.

Description: This issue wraps up the publication of essays to explore solutions available to address risks in retirement and focus on risks in a DC environment.

Description: Recently, the SCAN Foundation, AARP, LeadingAge, and HHS funded economic modeling conducted by Milliman and the Urban Institute around LTC reform elements. The LTC industry has over the years also generated ideas to address the on-coming expansion of LTC needs in the U.S. For this article, we have brought together three individuals who have long involvement with LTC financing to discuss some of the recent ideas and provide some perspectives on their pluses and minuses.

Description: Presented at the Living to 100 Symposium, January 2011. The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports 'CLASS' Act’s designers and promoters envision the program as a noble plan to relieve the financial strain on Medicaid long-term care and enable disabled and elderly Americans to purchase more home care and suffer less nursing home institutionalization. This paper explains why CLASS, like private long-term care insurance, is doomed to failure unless and until the crowd-out effect of easy access to Medicaid LTC benefits is addressed.

Description: Protecting oneself in older age from risks is the sine qua non of retirement planning. But far too many people don’t approach retirement (or retirement planning) well. From a policy perspective, we know about half the senior population will have some sort of long-term care event. We need to recognize that long-term care risk is a component not just of aging but of retirement. Placing long term care solutions in the retirement space is critical to reaching the bulk of the population. Combined with the additional element—recognition of risk—this would be both a powerful protection but also a natural one for individuals to understand.

Description: An interview with Dawn Helwig on developments in the Long Term Care market.

Description: Coverage of Medicaid home and community-based services under the 1915(i) state plan option: Attractive features and important considerations

Description: This paper proposes, for long-term care, a new funding model in which social insurance and private insurance will pay for the bulk of the costs, supplemented by personal payment. If these sources fail, public welfare will serve as a safety net.

Description: President Clinton’s Long-Term Care Initiative Presentation on January 4, 1999. Addresses support for family caregivers. From Long Term Care Newsletter, September 1999, Issue No. 1.

Description: Discusses Federal proposals to address LTC costs above-the-line deduction from taxes for premiums and creation of a LTCI program for Federal employees. From Long Term Care Newsletter, April 2000, Issue No. 2