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Summary:
The need for long-term care is expected to grow substantially in the future, straining both public and private financial resources. Many analysts argue that the current system fails to meet the needs of many people with long-term care needs because of its reliance on institutional care and on informal caregivers who bear most of the burden of care, as well as uneven availability of home and community-based services. Currently, federal programs provide some fragmentary protection against the costs of long-term care. A myriad of long-term care issues has drawn congressional attention for more than two decades. These have ranged from debate about large scale reform, such as new or expanded social insurance, to consideration of incremental changes to existing programs and tax policies. The 107th Congress may reexamine broad approaches to alter public and private financing of long-term care. Alternatively, Congress may continue an incremental approach, without major federal involvement, leaving state governments to develop strategies within existing federal and state funding constraints. This report will not be updated.
