In six years, baby boomers will start reaching the age of 85, when the need for long-term care (LTC) spikes—and more families will turn to a government health program, primarily Medicaid, to foot the bill.
Government programs fund 72.3 percent of all long-term care in the United States, according to data cited in a report by the Paragon Health Institute. Medicaid is the largest source of taxpayer funding, at 42.1 percent or $200.1 billion, while Medicare funds 18.2 percent of all LTC costs.
Dependence on these programs for LTC spells trouble ahead. Medicaid, which covers individuals of all ages, already covers a disproportionate share of seniors, while Medicare is facing insolvency.
‘Fallacy of Impoverishment’
Medicaid is the government’s health care safety net, but for LTC, it has become a hammock, says Stephen Moses, president of the Center for Long-Term Care Reform and author of the Paragon report, titled “Long-Term Care: The Problem.”
“The common wisdom is you have to become impoverished before the government helps you with long-term care, but the truth is very different,” Moses told The Heartland Daily Podcast on November 1. “I call it ‘the fallacy of impoverishment.’”
