For more than a decade, LeadingAge has worked hard to raise awareness about the need to reform the way we pay for long-term services and supports (LTSS). Inadequate funding and lack of coordination and choice plague our current LTSS system. It places enormous pressure on families and leaves older adults disconnected. Of significant concern, given our broken system today, we are ill-prepared to meet the needs of a rapidly growing older population.
LeadingAge believes in an LTSS financing approach that promotes consumer choice and flexibility. We believe such an approach with lead to quality improvement and stimulate the development of products and services consumers want and need. And, in doing so, it will help us create a society in which all may age with dignity.
One of our biggest challenges is the lack of awareness among many policymakers and the public about how LTSS is currently paid for. Research shows that most people are unaware of the costs, payers, and the potential need for LTSS. In fact, many believe costs are covered by Medicare. They are not.
As the trusted voice for aging, we believe that we have a responsibility to raise awareness about how families pay for LTSS as they age and to continue working towards a more rational approach.
Next week, we will launch a social media-based campaign to raise public awareness of the prevalence of need for LTSS among older adults, the costs, and implications for individuals and their families. Our primary target audience is the millennial generation. And here’s why. Research tells us that millennials are:
- Politically and civically active.
- Witnessing their parents care for older family members and, in doing so, learning more about the reality of caregiving.
- Becoming aware of LTSS for the first time; they don’t have issue “fatigue.”
- Interested in learning, as we discovered in focus groups
- Less likely to be married, own a home, have a family and, as a result, have fewer resources should they need LTSS.
- Already providing care for a family member or friend (10 million across the country).
Our initial objective is to increase knowledge and awareness. Our long-term objective is to work with Congress to pass legislation that creates a sustainable, fair and rationale LTSS financing system. We are pleased that Representative Pallone (D- NJ) recently released a working draft of a proposal to address this issue. His approach marries family and public responsibility, which we support. It recognizes the financial strain on families as well as on the Medicaid program and offers a possible solution. We applaud this initiative and will continue to work closely with Rep Pallone and his staff, knowing that final passage of any legislation is likely to be a multi-year effort.
The awareness campaign will include resources and tools that millennials can use to learn more about LTSS and how it is now or will impact their family. We want to build an army of supporters who understand the importance of this issue so when the time comes, they will join us in supporting legislation that gives families a fighting chance in the face of LTSS.
We hope you will get involved. Each of us employs, knows and interacts with millennials, probably on a daily basis. Please share campaign materials with friends, post campaign messages on your social networks, and join the movement to show your support for this important issue. Let us know what feedback you get or interest you generate. This is truly an effort that “takes a village.”