Caring for the elderly is a big issue, and will continue to get bigger as the nation's elderly population increases in the years to come. And part of that growing population will probably be someone you love. Or you yourself.

There are 35 million people aged 65 or older currently in the U.S. This represents 12.8% of the general population, and more than 19% of the Jewish community is over age 65. Read below to find out all about how long-term care should be carried out in this new millennium. You can also download a document of eldercare terms to further educate yourself.

Long-Term Care in the 21st Century

Jews are taught to honor their parents and care for them in their old age. That philosophy directs us to safeguard America's increasingly aged Jewish community and to plan for the long-term care needs of the general population.

At the beginning of the 20th Century some three million Americans were older than 65 and the average life expectancy was 47. Great advancements in health, nutrition, and quality of life have since led to dramatic increases in life expectancy in the United States, which currently averages 76 years (72 for men and 80 for women). Today the senior citizen population has risen to 35 million Americans, and many people are living well beyond these average ages. Beginning in 2010, the Baby Boomers begin to reach retirement. Projections show that by 2030, there will be 70 million people over the age of 65, with the greatest rate of increase among that segment of the population aged 85 and older.

Today, almost 20% of the Jewish population of the United States is over the age of

65, a significantly higher proportion than the approximately 13% of the general population.

With the aging of the Jewish people in America, the need for a national long-term care policy has become a top priority for Jewish federations and the United Jewish Communities. Four national consultations, convened by UJC's Washington Action Office and sponsored by the Jewish Healthcare Foundation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were designed to examine the scope of the problems in our nation's long-term care infrastructure and to search for solutions. These consultations, held in 1999 and 2000, brought together long-term care professionals and lay leaders from the Jewish community, public policy experts, and healthcare foundation representatives. The recommendations were then refined through input from additional national

experts and Congressional staff from both sides of the aisle who serve on relevant committees. The final recommendations set forth below were then formally adopted by the North American Jewish Federation System.

BACKGROUND

In 1990, the U.S. Bipartisan Commission on Comprehensive Health Care, also known as the Pepper Commission, issued a stark analysis on the need for long-term care reform. At the time the Commission released its report, there were 10 million Americans with chronic disabilities who were dependent on others for assistance in coping with the activities required of daily living. Some people received care in institutions, but most relied on family caregivers. When the Commission delivered its report, there was little private insurance that paid for long-term care and public support came primarily through the welfare-based Medicaid system.

Many American households faced impoverishment as a consequence of a family member developing a disability requiring long-term care. The Commission concluded: "Without a change in public policy, more and more Americans will have difficulty getting the care they need in nursing homes as well as at home." Since the Pepper Commission concluded its work a decade ago, the Commission's gloomy findings have not been adequately addressed and remain disturbingly accurate and timely. Most notably, there is still:

No publicly funded long-term care for those of modest means;

Archaic regulations in place that do not ensure adequate compliance from poorly performing nursing homes, while imposing bureaucratic red tape on historically well performing facilities; and

Severe shortages of quality line staff to provide nursing care and home health assistance.

These points illustrate where Congress and the past Administrations have fallen short in the advancement of public policy on long-term care.