Long Term Care Reform

The current Medicaid system doesn’t offer consumers who need personal care a choice of long-term services and supports. We must expand access to all care options to provide seniors and people with disabilities the opportunity to lead independent lives.

While the Bush Administration’s New Freedom Initiative begins to take steps to offer consumer choice in long-term care, its demonstration grant program does not actually change the current federal Medicaid structure. Instead, the plan shifts the burden of long-term care reform to cash-strapped states that aren’t equipped to assume the responsibility of the federal government in making improvements to long-term care.

Legislation like the Medicaid Community Services Attendant Act (MiCASSA) would help create real reform in the long-term care system by including consumer choice in the already existing federal Medicaid structure, which currently serves more than 51 million Americans.

Partnering a consumer-choice initiative with improvements in workforce conditions would enhance the quality of care for all long-term care consumers.