The majority of Americans would prefer to receive elder care in their homes instead of going to an assisted living facility or nursing home, according to a March poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Furthermore, 60% of the public believes there should be government support for home care through some type of long-term care insurance or program.
“Americans continue to have a strong desire to age in their own community – either in their home or a loved one’s – and this isn’t just a byproduct of COVID-19 fears,” said Dr. Sarita A. Mohanty, president and CEO of The SCAN Foundation, which funded the study. “People across the political spectrum agree that government should step up to help honor the wishes of older adults.”
The broad backing among the public for facilitating the purchase of long-term care coverage includes a supplemental insurance plan like Medicare Advantage (supported by 70% of Americans polled in the study) as well as tax breaks to help purchase long-term care insurance (supported by 61%)
Proposed legislation to help with the cost of home care is being worked on by several in Congress. House, Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ), for example, has been working on a plan that would establish a new benefit under Medicare, paying a modest daily sum to help defray the cost of home-based or institutional care. Congressman Thomas Suozzi (D-NY) has proposed a public-private partnership to provide long-term care insurance for services in the home.
In addition, at a recent U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing, members debated the inclusion of $400 billion for the U.S. caregiving system in President Biden’s original American Jobs Plan proposal. Individuals from the caregiving community spoke at the hearing supporting the investment in home care.
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) is also among the industry advocates that have discussed what a Medicare home care benefit could mean for the nation’s seniors. “It would be a revolutionary change — a welcome one, but a revolutionary change,” said NAHC President William Dombi when speaking to Home Health Care News. “We’ve long recognized that personal care services often make the difference between an individual staying home or needing an institutional care setting. So it would be quite valuable.”
Moving Health Home (MHH) is another organization working to change federal and state policy to advance home care. MHH members, comprised of a coalition of stakeholders, believe that home care can and should be part of the future. “The advent of widespread use of telehealth, remote patient monitoring, virtual disease prevention and disease management, caregiver support, medical record sharing, and new practices by providers and patients can make this possible,” cites the MHH.
The population of Americans 65 and older is projected to more than double by 2060 with increasingly more individuals wanting to age in place. Making this happen requires resources and support with many in the industry and government working toward having home-based care a real option for more seniors.
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Sources: Home Health Care News, NACH, MHH, The Christian Science Monitor