Long-term Care for the Elderly

Today, 6 million people age 65 and older need long-term care. By 2040, once the entire baby boomer cohort has grown elderly, that number could be 21 million. Every year Americans spend over 182 billion public and private dollars on services and supports for chronically disabled elders. This is projected to nearly double by 2030 to $341 billion and to grow to $684 billion once the last baby boomers have turned 85. And these estimates don¿t include the$375 billion in unpaid care family and friends provide¿including foregone wages that would have helped support Medicare and Medicaid. Long-Term Care for the Elderly sets forth an evidence-based research and policy agenda to identify the financing and delivery approaches that optimize quality of care, quality of life, and cost outcomes. Examining the Affordable Care Act, Robyn stone evaluates initiatives such as the Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), EverCare, the Home-Based Primary Care Program (HBCP), the Federal Coordinated Health Care Office, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation are considered. Also discussed are significant policy interventions to expand the supply of caregiving professionals; encourage workforce education and training; and make long-term care jobs more attractive. With Robyn Stone¿s guidance, the vision of a long-term care system for 2030 could become a reality.