With Federal matching funds included, long-term care costs to exceed
$3.7 trillion
Click here for a link to the full report:
http://www.ahip.org/content/default.aspx?docid=24597
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- State Medicaid programs
will spend $1.6 trillion on long-term care expenses over the next twenty
years, according to a new study released today by America's Health
Insurance Plans (AHIP). When Federal matching funds are included, total
government expenditures on long-term care will exceed $3.7 trillion.
Medicaid spending for long-term care will grow at a faster rate than
overall health care spending, faster than Medicare, and faster than the
national Gross Domestic Product.
"This report shines a spotlight on the need to better prepare for
long-term care expenses and to explore ways to provide consumers with
greater access to home and community based care options," said Karen
Ignagni, President and CEO of AHIP. "Many Americans underestimate their
risk of needing long-term care, underestimate the cost of care, and many
erroneously believe they have long-term care coverage."
Paul A. London, an economist and former Commerce Department deputy
undersecretary in the Clinton Administration, and Daniel I. Shostak, Ph.D.
of Maryland-based Strategic Affairs Forecasting prepared the report on
behalf of AHIP. The report provides national as well as state specific
projections for long-term care costs. Projections were calculated using
2008 dollars.
If current policies and trends continue, between 2008 and 2027 annual
Medicaid long-term care expenditures are projected to grow by 124% from
$51.5 billion to $115.6 billion. In 2008, fifteen states are expected to
spend $1 billion on Medicaid long-term care services. By 2027, 25 states
will be spending $1 billion or more.
States with the highest projected expenditures over the next twenty
years includes New York ($271 billion), California ($230 billion), and
Pennsylvania ($104 billion). States with the fastest growing Medicaid
long-term care expenses are Alaska (7 percent), California (6.4 percent),
and Arizona (5.9 percent).
"States cannot continue to shoulder the burden of long-term care costs
without some major changes," said Daniel I. Shostak, MPH MPP, Strategic
Affairs Forecasting.
The report projects Medicaid long-term care expenditures and does not
include costs that Americans pay out of pocket for long-term care. Medicaid
pays long-term care costs for low-income individuals or for those who have
spent down their assets to the point of Medicaid eligibility. Medicare does
not cover extended long-term care.
Increasingly expensive medical treatment and the aging of the baby boom
population are major contributing factors to the increase in Medicaid
long-term care expenses. In addition, many Americans have not purchased
long-term care insurance to help cover the cost of care
Most Americans are not focused on planning for long-term care and are
not taking appropriate steps to protect their retirement savings should
they need long-term care services. Studies show that a 65 year-old today
has a 70 percent chance of needing long-term care at some point in his or
her lifetime. The average annual stay in a nursing home is $75,000.
AHIP recently launched a national education campaign to better inform
consumers about their risks of needing long-term care and the valuable
financial protection long-term care insurance provides. The campaign seeks
to correct common misconceptions about long-term care, answer consumers'
questions, and highlight the important financial protection and peace of
mind that long-term care insurance provides. The centerpiece of this
campaign is a consumer-friendly website, http://www.MyLifeMyFamily.com.
America's Health Insurance Plans - Providing Health Benefits to More
Than 200 Million Americans
SOURCE America's Health Insurance Plans
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Related links:
http://www.ahip.org
http://www.ahip.org/content/default.aspx?docid=24597
http://www.MyLifeMyFamily.com
CONTACT:
Robert Zirkelbach of America's Health
Insurance Plans, +1-202-778-8493
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