III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 133 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 16, 2007 

Received and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

Pensions 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of a Long-Term Care 

Awareness Week. 

Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services has 

reported that approximately 60 percent of individuals 

who are over the age of 65 will need some kind of longterm care services and at some point more than 40 percent of such individuals will require nursing home care; 

Whereas in 2005 the Government Accountability Office projected that by 2040 the number of individuals in 


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HCON 133 RFS 

the age group of individuals who are 85 years of age or 

older, which it finds is the age group most likely to require long-term care services, is projected to increase 

more than 250 percent from 4,300,000 individuals in 

2000 to 15,400,000 individuals; 

Whereas the Internet site of the National Clearinghouse for 

Long-Term Care Information notes that the Medicare 

program does not generally pay for most long-term care 

services that are needed and that the Medicare program 

pays for skilled nursing facility services only after a recent hospital stay, that Medicare beneficiaries generally 

pay more than $118 in daily coinsurance beginning on 

the 21st day of coverage and coverage ends after 100 

days, and that the Medicare program does not cover a 

stay in an assisted living facility or adult day care; 

Whereas an AARP study in 2006 found that 59 percent of 

people in the United States who are 45 years of age or 

older overestimated the level of coverage under the Medicare program for nursing home care and more than half 

of such people who are 45 years of age or older indicate 

they believe such program provides coverage for assisted 

living, which it does not; 

Whereas the 2006 AARP study concludes that given the already high costs related to long-term care and the projected growth in the size of the older population in future 

years, it is essential for people in the United States to 

learn more about the costs of long term care, about ways 

to prepare for and pay for long term care, and State and 

community resources that are available to assist in these 

challenges; 

Whereas the Government Accountability Office has reported 

that broad-based misperceptions regarding the Medicare 


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program’s level of long-term care coverage significantly 

contributes to the lack of personal preparation of people 

in the United States for the financing of long term care 

and advises that the government can play a significant 

part in enhancing personal preparedness by educating 

people in the United States about the scope of coverage 

of long-term care under public programs such as the 

Medicare program; 

Whereas people in the United States have a right to know 

what long-term care coverage is available to them so that 

they are able to make informed retirement choices; 

Whereas the first phase of the Department of Health and 

Human Service’s pilot program to raise awareness regarding planning for long-term care obtained a less than 

8 percent response rate by consumers requesting information in selected States; 

Whereas in 2002 the Government Accountability Office reported that less than 10 percent of the elderly population 

in the United States and a lower percentage of those 

aged 55 to 64 years of age in the United States have 

purchased long-term care insurance; 

Whereas the Department of Commerce indicates that savings 

as a percentage of after tax income declined from approximately eight percent in 1990 to less than zero since 

2005; 

Whereas in 2005 the Government Accountability Office reported that spending on long-term care services solely for 

the elderly is projected to grow at least two-and-a-half 

times and could grow almost four-fold to $379 billion in 

2050; 


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Whereas the Government Accountability Office has reported 

that many people in the United States have neared impoverishment by depleting their assets to pay the significant costs of their long-term care; 

Whereas AARP reports that an estimated 44,400,000 individuals who are 18 years of age or older provide unpaid 

care to another adult and others have estimated the value 

of such unpaid services to be approximately $257 billion 

annually; 

Whereas advance planning by family members will help to 

protect caregivers’ health, financial security, and quality 

of life; 

Whereas our Nation’s long term care challenges will significantly impact women, who make up more than 58 percent of people in the United States who are 65 years of 

age and older, and greater than two-thirds of people in 

the United States who are 85 years of age and older; 

Whereas encouraging people in the United States to anticipate and plan for their future long-term care needs will 

help them achieve greater health and financial security, 

as well as greater independence, choice, and control over 

the services they need in the setting of their choice; and 

Whereas a long term care awareness week has been observed 

during the first full week in November, which in 2007 

will be the week of November 4th through 10th: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) supports the goals and ideals of a Long4 Term Care Awareness Week; 


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1 (2) encourages the Secretary of Health and 

2 Human Services to continue working to educate peo3 ple in the United States about long-term care; and 

4 (3) urges the people of the United States to 

5 recognize such a week as an opportunity to learn 

6 more about the potential risks and costs associated 

7 with long-term care and the options available to help 

8 meet their long-term care needs. 

Passed the House of Representatives October 15, 

2007. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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