HHS has announced a partnership with Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Texas to promote long-term care planning among state residents. The goal of the “Own Your Future” campaign is to get people to plan for potential future medical needs so they can remain at home and use their own resources instead of relying on public programs. Governors of the six participating states will send letters to all households with residents between the ages of 45 and 65--approximately 5.8 million households--promoting awareness of aging needs and encouraging them to order a free kit with information about Medicare and Medicaid benefit packages, outlines ways to plan ahead and legal issues to consider, and provides guidance on how to access private financing options.
“We are supporting better options for financing long-term care, meaningful incentives that make planning attractive, and increased awareness about what public programs pay and what Americans should plan to pay themselves,” said CMS Administrator Mark McClellan. CMS will also contribute $3 million to fund the National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information, which supports awareness campaign activities in additional states and the development of a web site to provide consumers with long-term care information.
