Americans Talk Paying for Long-Term Care In New Poll

How will you pay for care if you need it in your senior years? When we polled baby boomers in our Age Wave study, there were a number of options they supported for paying for care if they needed it in their seniors years . . from private insurance … to payroll deductions for a year of guaranteed care … to a pooled risk statewide long-term care insurance plan. What was also clear is that they don’t want to live in an institutional environment.Last week a new national poll on long-term care in the 2008 elections was released. Commissioned by Genworth Financial, the fieldwork was done by Public Opinion Strategies and the Mellman Group. Among the key findings, many of which parallel our research are:- Nearly 7 in 10 Americans have not made any plans for their own, a spouse’s or another relative’s long-term care needs. Yet, over half of those surveyed have had a loved one who needed a form of long-term care. (Our poll showed that people are totally clueless when it comes to differences between Medicare and Medicaid, the first one won’t pay for your long-term care needs.)This is an area where individuals feel they should bear some personal responsibility for payment. (We saw that in our poll, too.) 60% of voters surveyed supported new taxes or payroll deductions to subsidize senior care. 68% of those who supported new taxes or payroll deductions also indicated a willingness to pay between $25 monthly and upwards of $50 per month. In our Age Wave study, nearly 9 out of 10 (86% of all respondents) support a payroll tax up to $12 per month to pay for a year of guaranteed care if needed.Here’s a link to a AOL Money and Finance News account of the Genworth poll. Meanwhile, you can read the full questions to our Age Wave study here.