Money is one thing that usually will get attention. One of the largest budget items in every state is the Medicaid budget. And this is before the baby boomers reach old age. The Institute for Health and Aging at the University of California reports between 30 percent and 55 percent of people who need assistance bathing, dressing, walking, moving from a bed to chair, and help using the toilet do not receive it. Those unmet needs result in people not bathing or showering for fear of falling, being unable to follow special diets, falling while moving in or out of bed, not going to the toilet or not being changed often enough, being unable to fill prescriptions or buy needed medical supplies and missing medical appointments.
Family members have and still do provide most long-term care services.
Because both spouses often work it is not possible to give all the care to their loved ones that is required. As our society has become more mobile, children may no longer live near their parents or grandparents. Further complications include smaller living spaces than in the past, the fact people are having children later in life, and the unfortunate reality that the divorce rate is increasing among older couples. Although the task forces and study commissions varied in their goals, the NCSL found they issued many of the same recommendations with the same underlying principles. The LTC system should be seamless, with coordinated funding and administration.