CMS campaigns for consumers' LTC awareness.

Directly confronting the American public's notorious unawareness of long-term care financing realities, CMS has mounted a five-state, multimedia information campaign. Scheduled to kick off last month on a pilot basis in Arkansas, Idaho, Nevada, New Jersey, and Virginia, the CMS campaign will work through the governors' offices in each state. It will use letters, brochures, 30-second TV spots, follow-up mailings, and direct counseling by state agencies to extend the awareness of state residents aged 50 to 70. Classic areas of consumer confusion that will be addressed will include:

* what Medicare does and does not cover

* the strengths and limitations of Medicaid coverage

* the need for planning (although CMS does not endorse any type of planning) and the advisability of coordinating this planning with that for overall retirement

Collaborating with CMS and the Department of Health and Human Services on this are the National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the U.S. Administration on Aging. The program is funded by $7.5 million that was actually allocated by Congress in 1999; arrangements have been in the works since then. Participating states will receive initial grants of between $150,000 and $300,000 each.

--Richard L. Peck, Editor-in-Chief