When I was growing up in Glen Cove, all four of my grandparents lived in our house. Three of them were very sick. We all pitched in to provide caregiving for them, with my mother, an operating room nurse at Glen Cove Hospital, doing the bulk of the work.

More recently, both of my parents passed away, my mother at 93 and my father at 95. Fortunately, both of them had long-term care insurance, which allowed them to age comfortably at home with the assistance of home health aides.

Unfortunately, most Americans do not have coverage for their potential long-term care needs. Medicare does not cover long-term care, and Medicaid only covers nursing home care for seniors who become impoverished. This is an urgent problem for our country, as the number of Baby Boomers who will become disabled will nearly double in the next decade.

The issues posed by our aging population have been exacerbated by the fact that the United States has not prioritized long-term care. We have not created affordable and understandable strategies that enable Americans to cover the risk of disability in old age.

Without legislative action, millions of older adults will face financial ruin and could be unwillingly placed in Medicaid-funded nursing homes. This would overwhelm state and federal programs and cause Medicaid costs to skyrocket.

That is why I am writing legislation to create a public-private partnership to provide long-term care insurance for older adults. This legislation, the Well-Being Insurance for Seniors to be at Home (WISH) Act, H.R. 4289, will allow our seniors to age at home if they wish instead of having to spend down their life savings and enter Medicaid-funded nursing homes. The WISH Act will serve as a vital supplement to Social Security income for disabled seniors when they need it most.