IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 133 
Supporting the goals and ideals of a Long-Term Care Awareness Week. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 26, 2007 
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN (for herself, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. FER-
GUSON, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, and Mr. 
BURGESS) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
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 long- 
term care services and at some point more than 40 per-
cent of such individuals will require nursing home care; 
Whereas in 2005 the Government Accountability Office pro-
jected that by 2040 the number of individuals in 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; 
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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 re-
cent 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 Medi-
care 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 al-
ready high costs related to long-term care and the pro-
jected 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 
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 
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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 re-
garding planning for long-term care obtained a less than 
8 percent response rate by consumers requesting infor-
mation in selected States; 
Whereas in 2002 the Government Accountability Office re-
ported 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 ap-
proximately eight percent in 1990 to less than zero since 
2005; 
Whereas in 2005 the Government Accountability Office re-
ported 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; 
Whereas the Government Accountability Office has reported 
that many people in the United States have neared im-
poverishment by depleting their assets to pay the signifi-
cant costs of their long-term care; 
Whereas AARP reports that an estimated 44,400,000 indi-
viduals who are 18 years of age or older provide unpaid 
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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 signifi-
cantly impact women, who make up more than 58 per-
cent 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 antici-
pate 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 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) supports the goals and ideals of a Long- 
Term Care Awareness Week; 
(2) encourages the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services to continue working to educate peo-
ple in the United States about long-term care; and 
(3) urges the people of the United States to 
recognize such a week as an opportunity to learn 
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more about the potential risks and costs associated 
with long-term care and the options available to help 
meet their long-term care needs. 
Æ 
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