Hillary Clinton Proposes Assistance for Long Term Care:

Campaigning in Rochester, N.Y., on Oct. 14 for New York's U.S. Senate seat, Hillary Clinton (D) unveiled a proposal designed to provide assistance to families caring for elderly relatives and those with disabilities, the New York Times reports. Clinton estimated the plan would cost $45 billion over 10 years and could be financed with the projected federal budget surplus, without "taking funds away" from her plans for Medicare and Social Security, which also rely on the surplus. Families "with a maximum annual income of $50,000 and assets of $200,000" would qualify for up to $4,000 in state and federal aid each year. "Families would be required to match up to 25% of the government payments," which could be used for in-home nursing, long term insurance, rehabilitation and other long term care expenses. About three million families nationwide and 280,000 in New York would qualify for assistance. Clinton said, "Long term care can wipe that nest egg away much faster than it took to save it, and that is not right. We have an extraordinary amount of prosperity. We need to be thinking ahead." The Clinton plan, combined with a $3,000 tax credit for long term care under consideration by Congress, would assist families who decide against placing relatives in nursing homes or other permanent care facilities. Clinton said that the tax credit proposal "would not be enough," noting, "That didn't fit the need I kept hearing about as I met with people around the state who told me just painful, excruciating stores about the challenges they and th