Word of the Long-Term Care Crisis is Spreading

“The long term care system in Hawaii is broken, “according to the December 13, 2011 Draft Final Report of the Hawaii Long term Care Commission (http://www.publicpolicycenter.hawaii.edu/documents/LTCC_FINALREPORT_draft14dec.pdf. 2424 Maile Way, Saunders 723,Honolulu,HI96822).  And as noted in several previous blogs, the crisis will get worse because of the aging of the Baby Boomers.  Furthermore, the population from which care givers are drawn is beginning to decline.

Members of this Commission clearly “get it.”  They note that 75% of people over 65 will eventually need some form of long-term care (LTC) and that people need to begin planning for this prospect well before they reach their 60s.  The report also cites an average cost of $80,000 per year in a nursing home and the lack of public funds to cover these enormous costs.

A recent survey (2011 Long-term Care Consumer Survey and Quiz Results John Hancock Life Insurance Company U.S.A., Boston, MA02117 includes encouraging evidence that public also “gets it.”  In a sample of 1,000 Americans aged 21 – 75, 82% agreed that it is irresponsible not to plan for the cost of long-term care.  On the negative side, however, only 11% actually own long-term care insurance (LTCi).  And while 62% agreed that LTCi was the best way to do such planning, only one-third were inclined to purchase a policy in today’s economy.

So news about the growing need for LTC and the lack of resources to fund care is getting to the public.  But Americans are still reluctant to invest their own money to purchase insurance for their own LTC.

The solution to this perplexing & frustrating problem is nicely summed up in the Hawaiian Commission’s first two recommendations:

“Conduct a long-term care education and awareness campaign

Treat the risk of needing long-term care as a normal life risk” (p. 10)

This has been my mission for over 20 years.