Study finds custodial care concerns

The National Academy of Social Insurance conducted the poll.
SCRIPPS HOWARD
WASHINGTON -- Although long-term care has come to be seen as a back-burner issue for much of Washington, a new survey finds Americans surprisingly concerned about how the country pays for custodial care of the elderly and disabled.
The poll shows that 7 in 10 baby boomers and senior citizens think the federal government should do more to help people meet the cost of long-term care, but most also agree that government and individuals should share responsibility for the cost.
The poll of 804 people ages 40 and older, done for the National Academy of Social Insurance, was released Monday along with a report by a panel of experts from the academy on potential reforms to the way the United States pays for long-term care.
"We really didn't expect that this many people would be familiar enough with problems with long-term care to make it a priority for them, but the awareness that this is a serious policy problem that requires change was quite high," said Judith Feder, co-chair of the committee and head of the Public Policy Institute at Georgetown University.
Even though the middle-aged and older are concerned about long-term-care policy, only 37 percent said they had a plan to pay for it.
"One reason for the low level of planning is that just 35 percent feel it is very likely that they or their spouse will ever need such care," said Gary Ferguson, senior vice president of the polling firm American Viewpoint, which did the survey along with Peter Hart Research Associates.
And, in fact, noted Sheila Burke, the panel's other co-chair and deputy secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, "the need for long-term care is not a certainty -- 30 percent of people 65 and older will not need such care before they die."