Doug McNutt: A better system of care to ensure healthy aging for all

After Thanksgiving, with families getting together fresh in mind, now is an appropriate time to discuss how our current long-term care system is failing many of us. Too often, older people and adults with physical disabilities cannot access the care they need due to the current system being fragmented, uncoordinated, and underfunded. To ensure that everyone has access to the timely delivery of long-term home and community-based services with a meaningful range of long-term care options, we must improve the existing infrastructure to establish a comprehensive and coordinated care system.

There have been several recent reports identifying problems with the long-term care system for older adults and those with physical disabilities. These include “Barriers to Health Care Transitions in New Hampshire: A Snapshot Review” by the New Hampshire Hospital Association and Foundation for Healthy Communities; the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute’s “Long-Term Services and Supports in New Hampshire: A Review of the State’s Medicaid Funding for Older Adults and Adults with Physical Disabilities”; “Giving Care: A Strategic Plan to Expand and Support New Hampshire’s Health Care Workforce”; and the State Commission on Aging’s annual report.

Read the full story at New Hampshire Union Leader.