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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Aging is inevitable, but wise personal choices and sound public
policy can go a long way in helping us age well with health and
dignity. Overwhelmingly, Americans prefer retiring in the communities
and places they call home. They also hope to live their lives actively
and independently. However, achieving these goals requires adequate
finances to cover health and retirement expenses. It also necessitates
that individuals have the opportunity and commitment to maintain
a healthy lifestyle. In addition, it demands that we have the workforce
and social infrastructure needed to deliver long-term care in a
community-based setting.
Today, unfortunately, many Americans are not meeting their goal
of aging with the wellbeing, way of life, and dignity they desire.
However, if we can better prepare Americans to plan for their health
needs in retirement, change the focus of long-term care from institutional–based
services (nursing homes) to home- and community-based services,
and assist individuals in following healthier lifestyles, we can
help citizens age with the independence and dignity they desire.
Government can only lay the foundation to support sound individual
choices, however. Individuals must take more responsibility in making
the right decisions that promote healthier living and that prepare
them financially for the healthcare needs of aging.
To identify the public policies that can help individuals live a
long, robust, and independent life, I established the Health and
Dignity Task Force at the beginning of my Chairmanship of the National
Governors Association. I asked the task force to identify innovative
tools that governors could employ to help citizens live healthy,
active lives in their communities as they age. The task force focused
on five policy objectives:
• Promote wellness and disease management.
Chronic conditions cause almost half of all disability among older
Americans, and chronic care expenditures consume seventy-eight percent
of all healthcare spending. People who are physically active, eat
a healthy diet, and do not smoke can reduce the risk of chronic
disease by half. Governors want to learn how to execute successful
programs encouraging healthy lifestyles at all ages.
• Encourage personal responsibility
in financial planning for retirement care. Most workers have not
calculated how much money they will need to retire; and fewer
have thought about how to finance their long-term care needs.
While people typically require long-term care for thirty months,
less than one-third of seniors can pay nursing home costs for
thirty-six months without becoming impoverished. To help citizens
avoid impoverishment, governors are seeking to implement policies
for increasing personal long-term care and retirement planning.
• Advance best practices in
community care. Helping citizens to live better and longer in
communities entails safe homes, available support services, accessible
transportation, and the integration of frail and disabled people
into community life. Governors interested in helping older and
disabled persons remain in their communities are examining policies
that: 1) encourage home modification to make them elder-friendly;
2) provide information on community care and resource centers;
3) support creation of neighborhood transportation systems; and
4) promote development of communities that meet peoples’
needs over their entire lifetime.
• Support family caregivers
and in-home workers supporting them. One in every four American
households is caregiving to a person aged 50 and over. Caregivers
are mostly women who have decreased their work hours to fulfill
their caregiving responsibilities. To remain at home, many disabled
elderly persons, and particularly those living alone, utilize
the assistance of paid homecare worker in combination with family
care. Turnover rates among homecare workers are high and shortages
among nurse supervisors persist. Governors are looking for ways
to support family caregivers and promote the development of a
reliable homecare workforce.
• Utilize Technology to Provide
Improved and Cost-Effective Care. Technology is already helping
our citizens to live better and longer lives. Telemedicine enables
rural seniors to receive needed care in their communities, computerized
systems and motion sensors are assisting older drivers, and the
internet is keeping long-distance caregivers in touch with loved
ones. Governors are eager to learn about technological innovations
that can enhance lifelong quality of life.
It is my belief that states have done much to advance policy choices
that provide community-based long-term care. But we can do more.
By examining and developing best practices in the five policy areas
listed above, it is my hope that we can identify new and innovative
tools that will help us care for our aging loved ones today and
prepare for our own retirement tomorrow. We believe that by tackling
today’s long-term care challenges, we will be laying the groundwork
for tomorrows’ generations to age with health and dignity.
Gov. Dirk Kempthorne
Chairman, National Governors Association
Go to the NGA Issue Brief:
"Healthy Aging and States: Making Wellness the Rule, Not
the Exception"
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Gov. Dirk Kempthorne