Political Quotes

“while health care reform is being debated in the Nation's Capital and in the homes of every American family, we must not overlook one of the most critical issues to the elderly and nonelderly disabled Americans--access to affordable and appropriate long-term care services. With an estimated 10 million persons in need of some long-term care services, we cannot miss the opportunity that national health care reform presents to make some very real improvements to our current long-term care systems. Today I am introducing legislation to correct some of the serious problems in the financing and delivery of long-term care. This proposal would create a strong public-private partnership to help individuals anticipate and pay for their long-term care needs. For those without the resources to finance their own care, this proposal would improve our public safety net to better protect low-income families against the catastrophic expense of long-term care services. While approximately 38 million people lack basic health insurance, almost every American family is exposed to the devastating costs of long-term care. In fact, less than 3 percent of all Americans have insurance to cover long-term care. With average nursing home costs nearing $40,000 per year and home health care costing from $50 to $200 per day, long-term care expenses can quickly wipe out the lifetime of savings of a disabled individual and his or her family.”