A new study finds that Georgia faces multi-faceted long-term care problems.
GEORGIA PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
December 3, 2013
Contact Benita Dodd at 404-256-4050 or
Foundation Releases Study on Long-Term Care in Georgia
State Can’t Afford to Modify a ‘Broken System,’ Study Concludes
Atlanta – Georgia needs to reduce dependency on public programs and attract more private revenue if it is to survive the state’s coming long-term care crisis, according to a study released today by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.
Conducted for the Foundation by Stephen Moses, president of the Center for Long-Term Care Reform, the study examined Medicaid and long-term care financing in Georgia. Long-term care is defined as, “custodial or medical assistance needed for three months or more due to an inability to perform activities of daily living independently.”
Moses interviewed nearly 50 people who have knowledge and expertise related to long-term care financing in Georgia for the study, “The Index of Long-Term Care Vulnerability: A Case Study in Georgia.” Those interviewed included key state legislators, public officials and representatives of interest groups.
The study found that Georgia faces multi-faceted long-term care problems, including:
- A rapidly increasing elderly population
- Higher numbers of recipients with disabilities or dementia
- A Medicaid program already strained as the principal payer for long-term care
- Dependence on funding from the heavily indebted federal government
- State revenues constrained by recessionary pressures and limited future economic prospects
- Very little private financing of long-term care to relieve the budgetary pressure on public programs
- Heavy public dependency on social programs and a growing “entitlement mentality” among the citizenry.
“By focusing on improving the state’s current long-term care service delivery and financing program instead of taking into account this full range of problems and addressing it, Georgia runs the risk of modifying a broken system that cannot survive the larger oncoming demographic, economic and social challenges,” Moses concludes.
Moses recommends that Georgia reassess its current initiatives and move in the direction of reducing dependency on public programs while attracting more private revenue into the long-term care financing mix.
“Gradually but persistently the state should move away from publicly funded entitlement programs like Medicaid that increase a spreading ‘entitlement mentality’ and sap its citizens’ sense of personal responsibility,” the study concludes.
The full study is available here and at the Foundation’s Web site, www.georgiapolicy.org.
The Center for Long-Term Care Reform (www.centerltc.com) is an independent, non-partisan research institute dedicated to ensuring quality long-term care for all Americans.
The Georgia Public Policy Foundation (www.georgiapolicy.org) is an independent think tank that proposes market-oriented approaches to public policy to improve the lives of Georgians.
GEORGIA PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
December 3, 2013
Contact Benita Dodd at 404-256-4050 or
Foundation Releases Study on Long-Term Care in Georgia
State Can’t Afford to Modify a ‘Broken System,’ Study Concludes
Atlanta – Georgia needs to reduce dependency on public programs and attract more private revenue if it is to survive the state’s coming long-term care crisis, according to a study released today by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.
Conducted for the Foundation by Stephen Moses, president of the Center for Long-Term Care Reform, the study examined Medicaid and long-term care financing in Georgia. Long-term care is defined as, “custodial or medical assistance needed for three months or more due to an inability to perform activities of daily living independently.”
Moses interviewed nearly 50 people who have knowledge and expertise related to long-term care financing in Georgia for the study, “The Index of Long-Term Care Vulnerability: A Case Study in Georgia.” Those interviewed included key state legislators, public officials and representatives of interest groups.
The study found that Georgia faces multi-faceted long-term care problems, including:
- A rapidly increasing elderly population
- Higher numbers of recipients with disabilities or dementia
- A Medicaid program already strained as the principal payer for long-term care
- Dependence on funding from the heavily indebted federal government
- State revenues constrained by recessionary pressures and limited future economic prospects
- Very little private financing of long-term care to relieve the budgetary pressure on public programs
- Heavy public dependency on social programs and a growing “entitlement mentality” among the citizenry.
“By focusing on improving the state’s current long-term care service delivery and financing program instead of taking into account this full range of problems and addressing it, Georgia runs the risk of modifying a broken system that cannot survive the larger oncoming demographic, economic and social challenges,” Moses concludes.
Moses recommends that Georgia reassess its current initiatives and move in the direction of reducing dependency on public programs while attracting more private revenue into the long-term care financing mix.
“Gradually but persistently the state should move away from publicly funded entitlement programs like Medicaid that increase a spreading ‘entitlement mentality’ and sap its citizens’ sense of personal responsibility,” the study concludes.
The full study is available here and at the Foundation’s Web site, www.georgiapolicy.org.
The Center for Long-Term Care Reform (www.centerltc.com) is an independent, non-partisan research institute dedicated to ensuring quality long-term care for all Americans.
The Georgia Public Policy Foundation (www.georgiapolicy.org) is an independent think tank that proposes market-oriented approaches to public policy to improve the lives of Georgians.
