Political Quotes

“I am pleased to submit, with my colleague Senator Grassley, a Senate resolution that will focus attention on an extremely important health care issue for American families--long-term care needs. Rapidly increasing long-term care costs pose huge financial risks to families. With the average cost of nursing home care at $40,000 per year, early planning is required to ensure that long-term care needs don't leave the spouses or children of the elderly and disabled destitute. What most Americans do not realize is that Medicare is very limited in the type of long-term costs it covers. Medicare only provides coverage for 'acute' health care costs, such as short-term stays in certain kinds of nursing homes, or short-term nursing care in the home following a hospitalization. Medicare was never meant to cover chronic long-term health needs. Medicaid does offer assistance with long-term costs, but only after an individual has totally exhausted his or her assets. This means that families must become completely impoverished in order to get Medicaid coverage for nursing home care. What fills in the gaps? We know that sixty-five percent of many elderly who live at home and need help rely exclusively on unpaid sources, such as family and friends. But this help is not without a price--it takes a huge toll on families. Caregiving frequently competes with the demand of employment and requires caregivers to reduce work hours, take time off without pay, or quit their jobs.”