HOME INTERNSHIPS EMPLOYMENT NEWSLETTERS CONTACT US DONATE ABOUT CONVERGENCE IN THE NEWS HOW WE WORK GET INVOLVED OUR PROJECTS EVENTS Long-Term Care Financing Collaborative > OUR PROJECTS > LONG-TERM CARE FINANCING COLLABORATIVE Long-Term Care Financing Collaborative Final Report For the past three decades, policymakers have tried with little success to respond to the challenges of financing long-term services and supports (LTSS) to care for the millions of elderly and disabled Americans who need help. As our nation’s 78 million baby boomers age, demographic trends show declining availability of family caregivers and increasing reliance on paid care, either at home or in residential facilities. The out-of-pocket costs of such assistance can be catastrophic, and few people have the necessary resources, through savings or private long-term care insurance, to meet this need. In 2012, a group of policy experts representing a wide range of interests and ideological views created The Long-Term Care Financing Collaborative to build a foundation for new thinking and innovation. They asked Convergence to convene and facilitate. In subsequent meetings, the group developed two interim sets of recommendations: A list of foundational principles for designing a sustainable and affordable system of long-term services and supports. Recommendations for the delivery of care that centered on enhancing the independence and choice of those receiving care and supporting the family members and communities that assist them. The Collaborative was instrumental in helping build a unique research partnership between The Urban Institute and the actuarial firm Milliman that led to a common understanding of the actuarial and economic impacts of several long-term care financing options. As a result of these efforts, the Collaborative laid the groundwork for establishing a comprehensive, holistic set of recommendations for providing effective and efficient long-term care delivery and financing. In February 2016, Convergence released the Collaborative’s final recommendations “A Consensus Framework for Long-Term Care Financing Reform.” In July 2021, legislation was introduced in Congress to create a universal catastrophic long-term care insurance program based on the ideas first put forth by the Collaborative. Several Collaborative members were members of the advisory group that provided input on the legislation. Recently, the Collaborative’s work has been featured in The New York Times and The Washington Post. Collaborative members also discussed how the Convergence process galvanized this groundbreaking idea on the podcast below. Read the Collaborative’s final recommendations here. The Collaborative in the News “Getting Old is a Crisis More and More Americans Can’t Afford,” The New York Times, August 9, 2021 “The Middle Ground for Fixing Long-Term Care Costs: The WISH Act,” Health Affairs, August 9, 2021 “The Long-Term Care Crisis,” Common Ground Committee Podcast, July 22, 2021 “Long-term care needs a long-term solution,” Washington Post, April 20, 2021 “Biden Takes on Sagging Safety Net with Plan to Fix Long-Term Care,” The New York Times, April 15, 2021 LEARN MORE MODERNIZING CIVIL SERVICE REIMAGINING CARE FOR OLDER ADULTS GUNS AND SUICIDE PREVENTION ECONOMIC RECOVERY WORKING WITH CONGRESS CALIFORNIA HEALTH REFORM FUTURE OF HEALTH LONG-TERM CARE FINANCING COLLABORATIVE REENTRY READY ECONOMIC MOBILITY FEDERAL BUDGET REFORM HEALTH REFORM ROUNDTABLE NUTRITION AND WELLNESS EDUCATION REIMAGINED U.S.-PAKISTAN RELATIONS WHAT MEMBERS SAY “America faces an enormous challenge in figuring out how to address and pay for the long-term needs of aging Baby Boomers and the generations that will follow them. We need to imagine ways to shift from a more welfare-based financing system to a primarily insurance-based system that meets the needs of individuals and their caregivers. We need to have an honest discussion of the obligations we have to each other.” - Stuart Butler Senior Fellow The Brookings Institution YOUR DONATION ...will help support our efforts to promote dialogue and build consensus on issues of national consequence. And, your gift is tax-deductible! Copyright 2021 Convergence Center for Policy Resolution. All Rights Reserved. PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS & CONDITIONS CONNECT WITH US: