Long-Term Care: Consumers, Services, and Financing

Long-term care services for the elderly and for younger populations with disabilities are a significant component of national health care spending. In 2006, long-term care spending was almost $174 billion, most of it paid by the federal-state Medicaid program. This report focuses on concerns about the financing, the already substantial public role, which presages rapid spending increases as the “baby boom” population ages may lead policymakers to revisit these issues.