Larry Minnix

Most Americans believe that long-term care services and supports should be a part of any upcoming healthcare reform, according to the results of a new survey from the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

A total of 85% of those surveyed said that long-term care services and supports should be included in reform. More than half said that no healthcare reform package would be complete without them, the AAHSA report said. The results of the survey show that age, gender, region and income are not factors in this debate. Large majorities in all demographics endorse long-term care supports and services. A mere 13% said those services and supports should not be covered. The Mellman Group conducted the survey on behalf of AAHSA.

“These results prove once again that Americans do not draw the artificial line between acute care and long-term services and supports that policy makers use to exclude long-term services and supports from health care reform discussions,” said AAHSA CEO Larry Minnix.