Local collaboration needed for long-term care insurance.
Private insurance may be the most viable approach to financing long-term care for middle- and upper-income elderly, but many issues must be considered. Should public policy favor service-oriented or indemnity plans? Should states require companies to offer a minimum plan benefit to sell policies? Should companies try to design integrated plans that presume future Medicaid eligibility for some private-plan enrollees? Should states and private businesses require professional quality review, utilization control, and cost management features? One policy direction would encourage local management of insured individuals' long-term care, but such a strategy should be tested for structural, technical, administrative, and financial feasibility. A local management structure for long-term care insurance would have four functions: expenditure control, utilization control, quality control, and service development.
D000368:Aged; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007353:Insurance, Long-Term Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011640:Public Policy; D014481:United States