Paying for Health and Long-Term Care

Rising health and long-term care costs threaten many older Americans’ financial security. Our research examines the level and distribution of costs, how they are likely to change over time, and alternative financing reforms.

• Research Topics
  • Out-of-Pocket Costs
  • Medicare and Other Health Insurance
  • Older Adults with Disabilities and Their Caregivers
  • Financing Long-Term Care
• Commentary and Testimony
• Podcasts from UI Events
• All Publications

Out-of-Pocket Costs

• Do Out-of-Pocket Health Care Costs Delay Retirement? (2008)
  full report | related brief
• Health Insurance Coverage and Costs at Older Ages (2006)
• Health Care Costs, Taxes, and the Retirement Decision (2006)
• When the Nest Egg Cracks: Financial Consequences of Health Problems, Marital Status Changes, and Job Layoffs at Older Ages (2006)
  full report | related brief | two-page summary | commentary
• Will Health Care Costs Erode Retirement Security? (2004)
• Solvency or Affordability? Ways to Measure Medicare’s Financial Health (2002)

Medicare and Other Health Insurance

• Options to Improve Quality and Efficiency Among Medicare Physicians (2007)
• Medicare: A Policy Primer (2006)
• Medicare Disadvantaged and the Search for the Elusive ‘Level Playing Field’ (2004)
• The Medicare Chronic Care Improvement Program (2004)
• Getting Serious About Excessive Medicare Spending (2003)
• Digging the Medicare Hole Deeper (2003)
• Lifetime Social Security and Medicare Benefits (2003)
• Solvency or Affordability? Ways to Measure Medicare’s Financial Health (2002)

Older Adults with Disabilities and Their Caregivers

• Meeting the Long-Term Care Needs of the Baby Boomers (2007)
• Medicaid’s Long-Term Care Beneficiaries (2007)
• A Profile of Frail Older Americans and Their Caregivers (2006)
• In-Home Care for Frail Childless Adults (2006)
• When the Nest Egg Cracks: Financial Consequences of Health Problems, Marital Status Changes, and Job Layoffs at Older Ages (2006)
  full report | related brief | two-page summary | commentary
• Getting by in the Community: Lessons from Frail Elders (2005)
• Impact of the BBA-Mandated Interim Payment System on Medicare Home Health Utilization (2003)
• New Estimates of Lifetime Nursing Home Use (2002)
• Who Will Care For Us? Addressing the Long-Term Care Workforce Crisis (2001)
• One-Third at Risk (2001)

Financing Long-Term Care

• A Proposal to Finance Long-Term Care Services through Medicare with an Income Tax Surcharge (2007)
• Meeting the Long-Term Care Needs of the Baby Boomers (2007)
• Medicaid’s Long-Term Care Beneficiaries (2007)
• Options for Improving Medicare Payments for Skilled Nursing Facilities (2007)
• Impact of the BBA-Mandated Interim Payment System on Medicare Home Health Utilization (2003)
• State Cost Containment Initiatives for Long-Term Care Services for Older People (2000)
• Long-Term Care Needs and the Government Response (Part 1 of 3) (1999)
• Long-Term Care Needs and the Government Response (Part 2 of 3) (1999)
• Long-Term Care Needs and the Government Response (Part 3 of 3) (1999)

Commentary and Testimony

• The Strains and Drains of Long-Term Care (2008)
• The Burden of Caring for Frail Parents (2007)
• Options to Improve Quality and Efficiency Among Medicare Physicians (2007)
• Paying a Price for Decisions of Yesteryear (2007)
• Do I Really Deserve Even More of Your Money? (2007)
• Provide Protections From Retirement’s Pitfalls (2006)
• Time to Take Federal Budget Off Autopilot (2005)
• Digging the Medicare Hole Deeper (2003)

Podcasts from UI Events

• Special Needs Housing for the Frail Elderly and Homeless (2008)
• Who Will Pay for Boomers’ Long-Term Care? (2007)
• The Role of Private Plans in Medicare’s Future (2007)

All Publications