Use of Functional Criteria in Allocating Long-Term Care Benefits: What Are the Policy Implications?

This paper discusses the policy implications of allocating long-term care benefits to the elderly on the basis of objective functional criteria, particularly functioning in the activities of daily living (ADLs). Although research has documented the link between measures of ADL performance and the need for services, developing a long-term care program which allocates resources on the same basis must address an entirely new set of issues. This paper does not say it cannot be done. Its purpose, however, is to move the discussion from a research context into a policy context. [41 PDF pages]