Advocacy Project: Issue Overview

Introduction:

-The issue for my objective is that there is limited long-term care for older adults.  Also the long-term care that is available is very expensive and can be inefficient.

-The bill that I found isn't directly related to this specific topic, but would still help.  The bill, S.CON.RES.6, expresses that a resolution needs to be made for national health care to ensure that all health care needs of women and all individuals in the U.S. are met.  In turn this would ensure that long-term health care needs would also be met.

Who is affected by the issue?:

-The people most affected

 by this issue are older adults who are in need of long-term care as they are getting older and needing more help and medical services.

-In theory the older adult

s are the ones losing, because many aren't able to afford long-term care services without having to face a major trade-off such as selling their house.  Also there are limited services avai

lable to them, such as home health care.  

-The people who are "winning" are companies such as Medicare.  Medicare is a health care company for adults ages 65 and older.  It is a federal insurance system.  Medicare doesn't necessarily cover the cost of long-term care for every plan, so older adults end up having to pay more to Medicare to receive long-term care.  Medicare in turn is making a lot of money off of vulnerable older adults who don't know about this.  Medicare isn't very forward that they don't inculde long-term care.

What are the consequences of the issue?:

-The government would most likely need to form a program so there can be equal and affordable health care for every person in the U.S., which might be costly at first.

-People who can't afford health care would benefit from this.  It could also benefit those who currently do have health care, because it may be more affordable and everyone would be able to receive the same health care opportunities.

What are the barriers?:

-It is a country-wide issue and implementing a plan will take some time and a lot of effort from many people.  It is a big project and will take a lot of motivation.

-If the government would implement a plan and put the right people in charge of it I think it would come together.

What are the resources?:

-Information from how other countries who have country-wide health care implemented their decisions. Also access to a representative who is willing to take this on and make it a priority.

What is the history of this issue?:

-Long-term care insurance has been around since the 1970's where it kicked off in the 1980's.  It allows the policyholders to make sure they will be covered and not have to rely on their relatives to help pay for them.

-Nursing homes have been around for many years, but home health care and adult day care weren't popular.  As life expectancy increased, people were living longer and new drugs were coming out to aid in longevity, those that were in need of long-term care were limited in their options.  Additional options were created and assisted living facilities became more popular, but the waiting lists became long because of the lack of facilities to meet demands.  As more were created facilities introduced graduated care, where a person could live in a facility and receive different amounts of care depending on what they needed. As more care was needed they could add on more care, but of course for the cost of a pretty penny and they would just be moved down the hall to "graduate" to another area or step of care needed. Traditional health care didn't cover these expenses so many older adults were forced to sell their homes in order to receive the care needed. By the 1990's long-term care was being introduced in policies from insurance companies and was considered a hot commodity.  The insurance companies were raking in the profits.

-Some problems started to arise just a few years ago for long-term care policyholders, who were making premium payments for years. Insurance companies weren't calculating in the rise of health care costs the past 20 years and the increase in life expectancy. As insurers realized this some still made good on their claims, while many did not.  As stories began to erupt in the news headlines of the elderly not being able to receive the care they needed, insurers were and still are being accused of ignoring the policyholders and assuming they would die before needing any of the money.  Many companies are now being sued.  Since this issue has made national headlines Congress and the General Accounting Office are investigating insurers and their policies.

Long term care is still an option, but the number of insurers willing to sell these policies are deteriorating. All insurance companies are rated by agencies to show which are the best.

-I got all of this information from this website.

Allies & Opponents:

-I think that everyone who does or will need long-term health care would support this issue.

-The people who wouldn't support this issue would be Insurance Companies, because if it was a nation-wide health care program, we wouldn't need all the different health insurance companies.  Also those who are wealthy might not see this as the big issue that it really is, because they can easily afford health care.

My recommendation:

-I want policy-makers to vote yes on this issue and provide affordable and equal health care to everyone in the U.S.

Help:

-I think that I need help in my barriers, allies & opponents and resource areas, so if anyone has anything please let me know! I was drawing a blank.