“Who will have unmet long-term care needs?”

“Who will have unmet long-term care needs?,” by Alicia H. Munnell, MarketWatch

Quote:

“The bottom line is that when Medicaid is added to family and financial resources, most Americans can meet most of their needs for long-term care. Participants in 401(k) plans should be somewhat more sanguine than they are about using their balances to support their consumption in retirement.”

 

LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform:

What this study and author don’t understand is that Medicaid is doing much more than supplementing “family and financial resources.” Medicaid largely supplants private LTC spending and relieves family caregiving substantially. That is because, far from requiring impoverishment or forcing asset spend down, Medicaid covers middle class and affluent people who choose to use it. For a full explanation of how this system works by creating perverse incentives that leave most Americans unprepared for long-term care costs, read Medicaid and Long-Term Care.