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AARP: Maine Slipping in Cost, Availability of Long-Term Health Care

Maine is slipping in the cost and availability of so-called "long-term" health care. That according to the seniors group AARP.

It says Maine's ranking went from 8th in 2011 to 10th in its latest survey. AARP's Susan Reinhardt says the survey is meant to spur action on what will be a growing need in a nation with a growing percentage of older residents.

"We hope there is data in one place for states to be examining what's going on in their own state," she says "We hope that they can look at it; that they will target areas for improvement and engage both the public and private sectors. This isn't all related to what public policy makers can do, but public policy makers can do a lot. Together, we can do even more."

The AARP report says "unpaid family caregivers provide the bulk of care for older Mainers, in part because the cost of long-term care remains unaffordable for most middle income families." It says more than 191,000 Mainers help aging parents spouses or other loved ones with medical tasks like wound care and injections. AARP estimates paying for such care would cost more than $2 billion a year.

To see the full state scorecard, along with an interactive map of state rankings and information, visit www.longtermscorecard.org.