Long-term Care: Too young to plan ahead?

By Kaleb Rumicho, Policy Associate, November 15, 2011 at 11:00 am

At 24, the idea of planning for my long-term care rarely crosses my mind. This, of course, is not unique to me—or my cohorts. Long-term care and life insurance are tough sells for folks living at the age of invincibility.

However, all it takes to change one’s life forever is a simple accident—a horseplay-by-the-pool-gone-wrong. This was the case with 25-years-old, Rachelle Friedman. A former dancer and aerobic instructor, she became a quadriplegic after being playfully pushed into the shallow end of a pool during her bachelorette party.

Her case's international media attention garnered donations to curtail medical costs. Additionally, the media exposure provided her an opportunity to become an inspirational speaker and author. Unfortunately, this type of access to broader financial means is rare.

The young and healthy won’t always be. Everyone needs some type of long-term care financial plan, because no one is immune from disabling injuries, debilitating disorders or aging's inevitability. Just 5% of Americans carry long-term care insurance, despite the fact that 70% will someday need it.

Long-term care puts  tremendous pressure on Medicaid, including in Minnesota. With 26% of the public enrolled in some form of state-sponsored health care, these costs are significant. As baby boomers grow older, this budget pressure is bound to grow even larger. Therefore, it is imperative that our state officials address this crisis sooner rather than later.

And just cutting people from care isn't a humane or smart public policy option.

It is to the economic and social benefit of the individual and the state to make this issue a priority in the upcoming legislative session. If policymakers really wanted to control costs, there are several options.

For starters, rebrand the product to make it more relevant to young adults. Long-term care insurance has an image problem. Secondly, use the recently suspended federal CLASS act as a point of reference to develop a program specifically for our state.

We cannot wait for the eleventh hour to tackle this issue. We must do it now.

Posted in Health Care | Related Topics: Health Insurance  Health Care Reform  Medicare/Medicaid  Senior Issues