The 15th Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey asked a diverse group of experts for their perspectives on the future of long-term care in the United States. Four of five of the experts surveyed believe that it is important or very important to secure adequate financing of long-term care, improve quality of long-term care facilities, and develop a health care workforce that is sufficient in size and skill to provide long-term care. Adding a long-term care benefit to Medicare, financed by a premium, is favored by nearly four of five respondents. Over two-thirds (69%) say it is important or very important for presidential candidates' health reform plans to address quality and financing of long-term care.
Also available are two related commentaries, Revamping Long-Term Care in Pennsylvania by Nora Dowd Eisenhower, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, and The Long-Term Care: Preparing for the Next Generation by Carol Raphael, president and chief executive officer for the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.