Reform provision for long term care

November is Long Term Care Insurance Month. As reform swirls in Washington, we thought we'd call attention to one important provision in particular. The health reform bill proposed by the House calls for a new federal long-term care benefit that would provide at least $50 per day for long term care expenses, the Wall Street Journal reports. Premiums would be deducted from workers' paychecks at participating employers, but employees would have the opportunity to opt out. From the Journal:

"The program is meant to help address a looming problem in the U.S., where relatively few people have long-term care insurance to cover expenses if they need home care or a nursing home. Currently, the main federal resource for such coverage is Medicaid, which applies mainly to the poor. Medicare, the federal health program that covers the elderly, doesn't include a long-term care benefit."