Washington, DC – In support of a Senate Aging Committee hearing, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) commend Chairman Kohl and the entire Senate Special Aging Committee for holding a hearing that calls for the inclusion of long term care in any national health reform.
Americans are living longer and our nation’s aging population is growing – many of whom have medical or cognitive conditions which require care in a nursing facility. Currently more than three million Americans rely on the care and services delivered in one of the nation’s nearly 16,000 nursing facilities each year, and another 115,000 get their services paid for by Medicaid in assisted living communities. The forecast for the demand for long term care is alarming. It is projected that by 2040, as many as 9.3 million older Americans expected to rely on paid long term care services every year – in a nursing facility, an assisted living community or with paid home care – more than doubling current demand.
“It is imperative that government, providers, advocates and consumers work together to ensure that America has a long term care system that meets the health needs of our frail and elderly, preserves choice in the care that is received, is cost-effective and is sustainable for the coming years when demand will dramatically increase,” stated Bruce Yarwood, AHCA’s President and CEO. “We agree with Senator Kohl that we need work collectively and collaboratively to improve our nation’s long term system, which, by all accounts is fractured and in need of reform.”
“Home and community based services (HCBS) care and facility-based long term care should be complementary to one another, rather than forced to compete over financing, as they both fulfill consumer’s unique needs along the spectrum of health care and services,” stated Dave Kyllo, executive director of NCAL. “We believe that an individual’s choice in the type and setting of long term care and services must be preserved, and that HCBS should be available to all consumers.”
According to a recent Eljay study, in 2008, many states found that their Medicaid spending once again exceeded budgets. This contributes to the growing concern that future growth is projected to vastly exceed weak revenue growth causing Medicaid to consume the largest share of state budgets. As Medicaid is the single largest purchaser of nursing home and other long term care services, Yarwood commented that, “it is clear that state Medicaid programs cannot continue to operate in a deficit if they are going to be able to meet the care needs of patients today and in the years to come.”
“HCBS also serve an integral role in the provision of long term care and services to millions of American’s annually, and we support the availability of HCBS for all consumers,” continued Yarwood.
Citing the recent Congressional Budget Office’s Budget Options, he cautioned that, “An expansion of HCBS would further contribute to the financial crisis facing the entire long term care sector.”
Recognizing this looming crisis, AHCA, NCAL and the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care have engaged Avalere Health t to assist in the development of a comprehensive reform plan which addresses the need for change. The proposed model for both financing and delivery of long term and post-acute care is patient-centered, sustainable, and cost-effective. Some highlights of the plan include replacing the current patchwork financing with a voluntary federal system, the development of a new federal catastrophic long term care benefit, enhanced private long term care financing, and a streamlined post-acute delivery system.
Kyllo commented, “While many recognize that change is crucial, far too often it is believed that we can delay implementing reform. While the demand for care will grow and the crisis will increase in the decades to come, today’s system demands prompt attention and immediate action.”
“We look forward to working with Chairman Kohl, Ranking Member Martinez, and the members and staff of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging to ensure that long term care is part of the broader debate on health care reform, and to bring solution-based proposals to contribute to much needed reform,” concluded Yarwood.
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) represent nearly 11,000 non-profit and proprietary facilities dedicated to continuous improvement in the delivery of professional and compassionate care provided daily by millions of caring employees to 1.5 million of our nation's frail, elderly and disabled citizens who live in nursing facilities, assisted living residences, subacute centers and homes for persons with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. For more information, please visit www.ahca.org or www.ncal.org.