Don't Count on Medicare for Long-Term Care
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2007-05-08 11:23:00-04:00
Preliminary results of a new study show that a majority of Connecticut residents mistakenly assume that Medicare covers long-term costs and have not planned for their own long-term care needs. The fact is, it is Medicaid that pays for long-term care but you must be impoverished to qualify, and your choices are often limited to costly institutions, such as nursing homes, which restrict independence and quality of life.
AARP Connecticut believes there is a better, and less expensive, way under Medicaid to provide long-term care: at home or in communities. AARP Connecticut supported the study, conducted by researchers at the Center of Aging at the University of Connecticut’s Health Center, and is using its findings to advise elected state officials and state administrators in reforming the state’s long-term care system.
The study results were shared at an April summit that AARP Connecticut assembled at the state Capitol in Hartford to provide solutions to the shortage of long-term care options in the state. AARP gathered a group of international, national and state long-term care experts, including lawmakers, to share information on how long-term care is administered in the European Union, and in the states of Oregon and Vermont.
That information, together with the final study results, will help AARP guide the state in planning for the long-term care needs and desires of its residents.
This fall, AARP’s Connecticut office will conduct “listening forums” to inform residents about how long-term care is financed, how to plan for long-term care and what the future looks like for long-term care in the state.
Final results are expected later this year.
Other Resources
- State Commission on Aging Long-term Care
- AARP's Guide to Long-Term Care
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