Supporting the goals and ideals of a Long-Term Care Awareness Week.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 133, a bipartisan resolution supporting the goals and ideals of Long- Term Care Awareness Week during the week of November 4 through 10, 2007. I would like to thank Chairman Dingell and committee staff for moving this resolution to the floor, and the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin) for yielding to me once again.

I would like to urge my colleagues to support this commonsense, bipartisan resolution which I introduced with the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany), along with the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Ferguson).

I am proud that this resolution has earned the support of AARP, Families USA, the Alzheimer's Association, the National Council on Aging, the American Council of Life Insurers, the Association of Health Insurance Advisors, and America's Health Insurance Plans. They have come together in recognizing the immediacy of the need to raise awareness about planning for long-term care needs.

This resolution is part of my commitment to addressing the many challenges associated with long-term care. Designating a week to focus on long-term care is one meaningful step we can take.

Our Nation needs to address these issues sooner rather than later so that Americans are anticipating and fully prepared to meet their long- term care needs.

Studies show that many Americans don't have a clear perception of what long-term care costs and to what extent long-term care is covered by public programs.

Experts have projected strong growth and demand for long-term care services as the baby-boom generation grows older and have emphasized the related challenge of paying for long-term care services.

The Department of Health and Human Services has reported that approximately 60 percent of people over the age of 65 will need some kind of long-term care services.

The Government Accountability Office has reported projections of significant growth in spending on long-term care services for seniors such that spending could approach $379 billion by 2050.

Our Nation's long-term care challenges will have a particularly significant impact on women, who make up more than 58 percent of Americans over the age of 65 and greater than two-thirds of people 85 years of age or older.

Yet when it come to preparing to meet these costs, many Americans are not adequately prepared. For instance, a 2006 AARP survey on the cost of long-term care found that 60 percent of people age 45 and older said they believe Medicare will pay for extended nursing home stay, which it does not. And more than 50 percent of people age 45 or older said they believe Medicare covers assisted living, which it does not.

And private-pay costs for this kind of care continue to go up. In South Dakota, the average cost of a year in a private room in a nursing home is $53,000, and a double-occupancy room averages well over $47,000. According to one recent national survey, a year in a private room in a nursing home averages more than $74,000, and a double- occupancy room averages nearly $66,000 a year.

An essential step in meeting the challenges posed by long-term care needs and costs is raising awareness about planning for long-term care.

Education will help people understand the likelihood of needing long- term care, the types and costs of available services, and the options to help plan and pay for those services. The more people know, the greater opportunity people have to plan for their future and the more likely they are to receive the services they need in the setting of their choice.

That's the motivation for this Long-Term Care Awareness Week resolution. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan resolution. By passing it today, supporting the goals and ideals of Long-Term Care Awareness Week during the week of November 4 through 10, we can take another step forward to prepare our constituents and the Nation to meet the already high cost of long-term care and the growing challenges ahead.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 133) supporting the goals and ideals of a Long-Term Care Awareness Week.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and exclude extraneous material on the concurrent resolution under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 133, supporting the goals and ideals of a Long-Term Care Awareness Week. Long-term care is an often overlooked part of the continuum of care for many Americans, and many of us find ourselves ill informed and ill prepared to make choices for our own long-term care needs and those of our loved ones.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, long- term care represents a variety of services that include medical and nonmedical care for people who have a chronic illness or disability. Most long-term care is to assist people with the activities of daily living, such as dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom. It is important to remember that you may need long-term care at any age. The need for support and health services for persons who have diminished capacity for self-care is projected to strain both public and private resources.

Madam Speaker, H. Con. Res. 133 calls for public education about the need for long-term care so that people of all ages throughout our Nation are better prepared to meet their own long-term care needs. Planning for long-term care requires us to think about possible future health care needs. Making the right decision about long-term care requires us to look at all of the options before us and to make informed decisions.

I want to recognize and thank my colleague from South Dakota (Ms. Herseth Sandlin) for introducing this resolution and carrying it to the floor. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of it.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the bill's author, the gentlewoman from South Dakota (Ms. Herseth Sandlin).

Madam Speaker, I too want to add my words of congratulations to the bill's authors, the gentlewoman from South Dakota and the gentleman from Louisiana.

I know from my own personal experience you are never fully prepared for having to make some of these choices on behalf of loved ones, and it can happen at any time. We are going to be very well-served by the passage of this bill to increase awareness among people of all age groups about the decisions and options they have. We have to understand that long-term care is part of the continuum of health care in this country. More education is needed. I recommend its passage.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 133, supporting the goals and ideals of a Long-Term Care Awareness Week. As designated, the first week in November is designed as the opportunity to educate Americans on the likelihood of one needing long-term care. Additionally, greater education is needed as to what types of long-term care programs are available and what the various costs of services are. Families should take this opportunity to discuss the options to help plan and pay for their future.

We know the baby boomer generation is now becoming eligible for Social Security, so it is sort of a wake-up call for what it will be, not just for having some financial independence, but what it would be and what it means to take care of dealing with their health care and the notion of rising health care costs. So the sooner one prepares, the better off they will be when they reach that age.

Madam Speaker, health care costs are increasing, people are living longer, and I think we have a real responsibility here to educate constituents who need to become actively involved in ways in which they can provide for their own future of health care, as well as the care of their family member. I stand in support of this and ask my colleagues to support the resolution as well.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to yield 2 minutes to the lead sponsor and a true champion of this effort in the House, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany).

Madam Speaker, let me commend the gentlelady from South Dakota and the gentleman from Louisiana for bringing this to the floor.

I think what they said is totally accurate in the sense that as our population lives longer and lives more healthy lives, along with that comes an understanding and an obligation to begin preparing for those long-term health care needs as part of their retirement.

As I mentioned before, baby boomers officially begin to receive, for those early retirees, Social Security in just a few months. That population, as we know, is large. I just think the more we can emphasize and educate the people of this country on what their options can and should be as they retire, the better off we will be when that day arrives.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my friend from New York for yielding me this time.

I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 133 because many Americans lack protection from catastrophic long-term care expenses related to chronic illnesses and disability. And worse yet, most families assume that Medicare will actually pay for these long-term care services, while it generally does not; and oftentimes they find out in the midst of a family crisis when a loved one is ill, placing intensive emotional burdens as well as financial burdens on families.

I want to thank my colleague, Congresswoman Herseth Sandlin, for working with me on this and really for being a champion on this issue. She and I have worked together, and we have had some success in persuading HHS and Social Security to clarify these widespread perceptions.

I am hopeful that the passage of this resolution will encourage Secretary Leavitt, President Bush and the future administration to discuss this critical retirement security issue with the American people. A recent poll found that the majority of voters want to hear more about plans on how we will deal with this problem, and they desire more information on this. And that perception out there that exists that Medicare covers this is a real problem. The more we can get this information out to the American people, the greater the service we will be doing to help them deal and to cope with these problems.

We clearly must do more to expand coverage for long-term care, to assist family caregivers, particularly those coping with the onset of chronic conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. So I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 133.

Mr. Speaker, many Americans lack protection from catastrophic long-term care expenses related to chronic illnesses and disabilities. Worse yet, many of these families assume Medicare will pay for long-term care services, while it generally does not.

Despite funding from Congress for long-term care education activities, the Department of Health and Human Services has done little to inform families and caregivers of this confusion.

HHS has neglected to clarify these Medicare misperceptions with at least 90 percent of households contacted through its long-term care awareness direct mail campaign. HHS has a duty to use other communication methods to inform families.

I recently introduced a bipartisan resolution with Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin to encourage Secretary Leavitt to be more proactive on this issue, so Americans can have greater independence, choice and control over the services they need in the setting they prefer.

I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 133.