"Almost 90% of all health care expenditures will be in the last few years of your life," Tom McInerney, CEO of Genworth Financial, said Wednesday during Genworth's long-term care symposium on Capitol Hill. "Federal or state governments are going to have to shoulder two-thirds" of the cost of long-term care.
Indeed, Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., said during the event that the "fastest growing age group is 85 and up."
"You need LTC, private and [other] programs that make sense when you need it," she said, adding that "families need to think about LTC [costs] much earlier."
Grisham is one of the 90 million caregivers in the U.S. today, spending "$25,000 to $40,000 per year" to care for her mother, who is "fully covered by Medicare."
She introduced legislation in late July, the Care Corps Demonstration Act of 2017, which places volunteers in communities to work with seniors and individuals with disabilities who need extra support to live independently. In exchange, volunteers would receive health insurance and other benefits, including tuition assistance.
The legislation, Grisham said Wednesday, is "a brand-new concept."
