| Offices : Beckley • Charleston • Fairmont • Martinsburg • Washington, DC | E-mail Senator Rockefeller |
Long-Term Care Senator Rockefeller knows that he impending retirement of the baby-boom generation poses a significant challenge to our health care system. By the year 2030, there will be 72 million people aged 65 years or older in America - more than twice the number today - with those aged 85 years and older becoming the fastest growing segment of the population. Most of these individuals will lack the retirement and income security necessary to meet their long-term care needs and could face impoverishment instead of the dignity and peace of mind they have worked for their entire lives. Currently, there are only limited options available to help Americans prepare for their long-term care needs. Medicare does not provide significant long-term care benefits. State Medicaid programs are overburdened and cannot continue to be the sole solution. Since coming to the Senate, Rockefeller has worked to create a viable long-term care system in this country. More than 16 years ago, he chaired the United States Bipartisan Commission on Comprehensive Health Care (also known as the Claude Pepper Commission), which made substantial recommendations for long-term care reform to Congress. To build on the efforts of the Pepper Commission and renew the focus on federal long-term care policy, Rockefeller has established the bipartisan Senate Long-Term Care Caucus. Through briefings and conversations with policy experts, the Caucus will encourage greater dialogue among Members of Congress and their staffs regarding the current state of long-term care, new ideas in the field, and the impact of various legislative proposals on access and affordability. |
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