Long Term Care and Consumer Education

It is extremely important for citizens to educate themselves about long term care. People need to be educated about what types of care are offered, how to access care, and how Medicare and Medicaid can be used. There is much confusion and misinformation about long term care because the medical system is so complicated. Often long term care is not something that people plan for or if they do plan for the cost it most likely is not enough.

Based on a report on the perception of the cost of long term care produced by AARP only 8% of people surveyed could correctly estimate the monthly cost of nursing home care. Only 23% of people could estimate the monthly cost of assisted living. Those surveyed were age 45+, so obviously this an issue that needs to be addressed because this group needs to be educated about long term care in order to prepare themselves for whatever circumstances may arise as they age.

In chapter two of the text, Long Term Care Managing Across the Continuum CriterionVI discusses the need for community education for long term care. It explains that neither Medicare or Medicaid were created for the purpose of providing coverage for long term care, yet society has the perception that it will be provided for them. Perhaps this is due to the many barriers to providing education. The barriers listed according to Pratt, include consumer apathy, overlapping sources of information, and inconsistent methods of delivering information.

Organizations such as the American Association of Retired Persons and the National Council of Senior Citizens work to provide information to the public about long term care as just one of the areas they work to inform older Americans.

The survey produced by AARP noted above brings light to how little the public truly knows about the cost of long term care. Along with the report AARP notes that based on the findings they are working to educate the public so they can discuss with their families the lifestyle preferred as a senior citizen.


References:
Long Term Care: Managing Across the Continuum by John R. Pratt
http://www.aarp.org/research/longtermcare/costs/ltc_costs_fs_2006.html