Dean unveils long-term care strategy

Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean has unveiled a long-term care strategy that includes tax credits for those who purchase long term care insurance and new regulation of the industry. Dean says long term care insurance is terrific, and he wants to make it easier for Americans to buy it. But Dean says there’s no minimum standard for such insurance, so if a company goes broke, you have little recourse, and no insurance. Dean says while he was Governor of Vermont, he also sought to make it easier for the elderly to stay in their homes as long as possible.Dean is also calling for a new, nationwide registry for nursing home workers to screen out those who’ve abused the elderly. Dean says every state has such a registry to record those guilty of elder abuse, but there’s no national registry to guard against those who would move from state to state and seek employment in the nursing home industry. Dean was at the Dubuque Area Lifetime Center on Sunday to outline his long term care ideas. He also campaigned this weekend in Baldwin, Clinton, Iowa City and Davenport.