Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

More options, including in-home care, available to seniors who plan ahead

Ohio and Pennsylvania will join 16 other states in a federal program promoting long-term care planning, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The objective of the "Own Your Future" program is to assist Americans to actively participate in planning ahead for their future long-term care needs. The program is directed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Administration on Aging, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

"We are working closely with officials in Ohio and Pennsylvania and the other states already in the program to promote the importance of planning so all Americans will have the resources and information available to begin planning for their long-term care early on in life," HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said.

In 2000, about 13 million Americans needed long-term care and this number is likely to grow exponentially in the next 30 years. According to the Census Bureau, the percentage of the population 65 and older will increase from 12.6 percent in 2000 to 20.5 percent in 2040, and the percentage of the population aged 85 and older will grow from 1.6 percent in 2000 to 3.8 percent in 2040.

Under this program, Ohio is offering free, in-home long-term care consultation. Similarly, Pennsylvania will provide a state-wide long-term living public education and outreach unit to make people aware of the significance of LTC planning. 

This spring, the governors of Ohio and Pennsylvania will ensure that all the households in their states with residents between the ages of 45-65 receive a letter explaining the importance of long-term care planning. About 3.3 million households in the two states will receive the letter. This letter also encourages recipients to order a free Long-Term Care Planning Kit that includes:

• information about Medicare and Medicaid
• ways to plan ahead
• organizing one's legal affairs
• information on ways to assess private financing options and state-specific resources.

The other16 participating states are Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Over 11 million letters signed by governors in these states and more than 550,000 Long-Term Care Planning Kits have been dispatched, HHS reports.

"Better planning for long-term care is likely to increase people's ability to remain at home with better use of their own resources, and may also reduce pressures on public programs," said HHS Assistant Secretary for Aging Josefina Carbonell.

For more information on the program, go to www.longtermcare.gov.