Misconceptions about Who Pyas for Long Term Care

A large majority of the American public still believes that the government will provide long term care when needed.  It is this misconception that most likely prevents people from doing any planning at a younger age for the future need for care.  According to the National Care Planning Council, (www,longtermcarelink.net) many people believe they can give away assets prior to the need for long term care and qualify for Medicaid.  The Council suggests that this belief prevents people from considering other ways to fund the cost of future care.

As a matter of fact, it may be possible to use the system and allow Medicaid to cover care but at what cost?  Why would anyone want to plan to spend his remaining years in a nursing home which is the preferred living arrangement for Medicaid.  Why go through the expense and effort of trying to manipulate the system to get welfare care, when a little preplaninng at an earlier age would be a better option?

We often find frequent objections to long term care planning from people who think Medicare or the Veterans Benefits Administration will take care of them.  While this is true to a certain extent, these people simply don't understand the limitations of these government programs.

Government could be more involved in providing care but our constipated system of delivery prevents this from happening.  The National Aging Network,, a government sponsored program, is in the best position to help to help people receive long term care in their homes.  And studies have shown that the cost of providing this kind of care is significantly less than the cost of providing nursing home care through government programs.

I believe that the public's misunderstanding of Government long term care programs is an impediment to proper long term care planning.  When people understand the limitations of relying on government programs they are most likely to be more motivated to plan for the future by making provisions in advance and providing advance funding to pay for care.  Prior planning also allows people to have a choice in their care stetting and in the type of services they receive.