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Aug 31
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The Candidates: Long-Term Care and Caregiving

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Where Clinton and Trump Stand on Caregiving and Long-Term Care

Considering that Americans 65 and older are the demographic group most likely to vote, it is astounding how little the major parties’ presidential candidates have talked about two issues that loom so large in older adults’ lives: caregiving and long-term care.

About 34 million Americans provided unpaid care to an adult 50 or older in 2014, according to a 2015 report by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. Half of those so-called “informal” caregivers were caring for a parent or parent-in-law. And the impact of that caregiving on their pocketbooks is profound. About one in five said caregiving created a financial strain on them.

The availability and affordability of long-term care is another growing concern for the aging boomer population. About 8 million people received long-term care services in 2012, according to the Centers for the Disease Control. Those services those provide through home health care, nursing homes, assisted living centers, adult day centers and hospice care. Among people 65 or older, 69 percent will develop disabilities and 35 percent will enter a nursing home at some point, according to a 2007 Urban Institute study.

This article details Trump’s and Clinton’s stands on issues relating to caregiving and long-term care. It is the fourth in a series of Next Avenue’s Election 2016 blog posts on where presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump stand on key issues of interest to Americans over 50. The first article that we shared was about where they stand on Social Security. The second article was about health care and Medicare. The third article explored their views and policies on retirement security.

To read the entire analysis of the candidates, you can find the article HERE.

MJL Blog Footnote

Aug 11
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The Candidates and Elder Care

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Five Health Care Issues the Candidates Aren’t Talking About — But Should Be

The nation in the next few years faces many important decisions about health care — most of which have little to do with the controversial federal health law. Here are five issues candidates should be discussing, but largely are not:

  • Out-of-pocket spending. As insurers have shortened their lists of “in network” doctors and hospitals, another out-of-pocket spending problem is becoming more common: The “surprise medical bill.” Those are bills for services provided outside of a patient’s insurance network that the patient did not know was out-of-network when he or she sought care.
  • Drugs — more than prices: Rising drug prices at the pharmacy counter have also proved problematic for patients.
  • Long-term care. Every day, another 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 and qualify for Medicare. An estimated 70 percent of people who reach that threshold will need some sort of long-term care.
  • Medicare. Medicare, which provides health insurance to an estimated 55 million people — 46 million older than age 65 and another 9 million with disabilities, is also in a financial bind.
  • Dental care. Research has shown repeatedly that care for the mouth and teeth is inextricably linked to the rest of the body. Oral problems have been linked to conditions as diverse as heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

Social Security: Where Clinton and Trump Stand

Social Security is one of the most vital issues for older Americans. And, as things now stand, unless the Social Security system is changed, benefits will be cut by 21 percent in 2034, due to solvency issues. The only way to shore up Social Security is by raising taxes, cutting benefits (which could include raising the retirement age) or both. Forbes Magazine has prepared a head-to-head rundown on where Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton stand — as best as anyone can tell. Incidentally, Trump’s website makes little mention of Social Security; most of his policy positions come from what he has said in debates or speeches. Clinton’s site has more details about her proposals and she has fleshed them out elsewhere. Both recently gave a pretty good summation of their views to AARP. Two caveats: Trump’s positions sometimes differ from the Republican Party platform, are still unknown or may change if he’s elected. Some of Clinton’s positions have been evolving (her threshold for higher payroll taxes is new, for instance) or are vague.

Read the analysis at Forbes.
Related: What Clinton and Trump Propose for Social Security and Medicare (PBS NewsHour)

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