When I think of the New England Journal of Medicine, my first thought isn’t long-term care. New medication for a disease? Yes. A study linking my favorite food with some kind of unpleasant health condition? Possible. But long-term care? Not so much.

That’s why I was surprised to see this article about LTC and the 2008 election in this month’s issue. In it, Dr. David Stevenson analyzes a variety economic, social and political factors that all come down to one conclusion: long-term care is here to stay, and candidates for political office have to start talking about it. Steveson said it best here:

“If the upcoming election truly is about creating sustainable change, then presenting an efficient and humane plan for the reform of long-term care should be viewed as an important test of the candidates’ vision for our country. ^”  

Then it came to me: like a new medication or research study, our long-term care crisis isn’t a stagnant situation. It’s dynamic and our politicians, like medicial researchers, must discover how can we can make  long-term care affordable in America.

I think investigating AAHSA’s Long-term Care Solution would be a good start. Do you have any suggsetions to share?