Crisis in the making: Long-term care

I know that cutting back on Medicare is the perpetual wet dream for many lawmakers these days, but here's a UCLA/SCAN Foundation poll that finds a large majority of California voters over 40 don't have anywhere near the financial resources to afford basic health services. Some examples (via the UCLA Newsroom):

--Two-thirds of respondents could not afford more than three months of nursing home care at an average cost of $6,000 per month (88 percent among Latino voters). About four in ten could not afford a single month of care. Among Latino voters, 88 percent could not afford more than three months of nursing home care.

--Vast majority of respondents (85 percent) said they don't have coverage for long-term care.

--Six in ten are worried that their income won't be able to cover living expenses.

Okay, I give up. What happens to these people when they get sick and can't care for themselves? Truth is no one has the first clue.

"Californians need affordable options to age with dignity and independence so that they can live how they want in the place they call home," said Dr. Bruce Chernof, president and CEO of The SCAN Foundation. "With so many Californians struggling financially today, it is hard for them to think about the future, yet planning for future needs is an essential component of growing older and necessary for one's personal health, as well as the state's fiscal health, especially given the high cost of long-term care."