Thursday, April 25, 2002
Seattle--
*** With another successful LTC Graduate Seminar completed (in Baltimore on April 22), we're getting ready for Pittsburgh on May 13 and Philadelphia on May 14. Join us for an all-day foray into the hidden complexities of LTC that you can't learn anywhere else. Jump to http://www.centerltc.com/ltc_grad_seminar.htm for all the details on content, cost, locations, times, testimonials, etc. Email amy@centerltc.org or call Amy Marohn at 425-377-9500 to hold a place. Pre-pay ASAP to secure a reservation as participation is limited to 15. ***
*** Are you up to speed on what's happening in long-term
care service delivery and financing? We
search the popular media, trade magazines, academic journals, e-newsletters and
web sites screening for information to help you stay on top of this complicated
field of expertise. If you're not
in The Zone, you're out of the loop. New
content in The Zone includes:
LTC
E-Alert #117--State Reports--KY, MS, MA, OH, IN, IL
LTC
E-Alert #118--More Alzheimer's Progress
LTC
E-Alert #119--LTC Quality Worries
LTC
E-Alert #120--Useful New E-Letter with NH
Charge Data and Event Calendar
LTC
E-Alert #121--Medicaid Drug Woes
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Zone in! ***
Nearly every state is struggling with significant fiscal
pressures or even a budget shortfall in the face of reduced tax revenue and
higher costs. Medicaid is often the
largest human services expense in a state budget and long-term care is usually
the largest component of Medicaid spending.
Thus, long-term care spending cuts are in play across the country as
state governments struggle to adjust to our new economic reality.
While Medicaid spending cuts may keep the proverbial ship afloat
temporarily, how should states prepare for the future?
The latest effort in Colorado may point the way.
The Colorado legislature is now considering a resolution encouraging
private financing of long-term care to help ensure the viability of Colorado’s
safety net for the truly needy.
A
resolution titled “House Joint Resolution
02-1003: Concerning the Importance
of Long-Term Care Insurance, and, in Connection Therewith, Encouraging Citizens
to Purchase Private Long-Term Care Insurance Policies” has already passed the
Colorado House and is now before the Colorado Senate for consideration.
(The House version, which passed on January 16, 2002 is online in
.pdf format at http://www.leg.state.co.us/2002a/inetcbill.nsf/fsbillcont/ECC03455A8FF58F487256AC00047F46D?Open&file=HJR1003_eng.pdf).
An
excerpt from the resolution follows:
“WHEREAS, The government provides a safety net for the
impoverished, but it cannot afford to pay for long-term care for everyone who
will need it; and
“WHEREAS, Failing to protect household assets by
planning for long-term care with private insurance can have dire consequences
that result in the loss of those assets; and
“WHEREAS, It is imperative that people begin now to
plan for their long-term care needs; and
“WHEREAS, Private long-term care insurance can help pay
for most of the cost of long-term care, as well as provide protection against
inflation; and
“WHEREAS, Increasing the number of private options for
long-term care is not only important, but essential for the well-being of
Coloradans; now, therefore,
“Be
It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-third General Assembly
of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein:
“That the General Assembly strongly encourages all
Coloradans to investigate the costs of long-term care and the benefits of having
private long-term care insurance; and
“That the General Assembly urges Coloradans to actively
pursue the purchase of appropriate long-term care insurance since the government
can provide assistance for long-term care to only the most destitute, and not to
all those who will need it; and
“That the General Assembly urges the private sector to
increase the number of options for privately funded long-term care in
Colorado.”