Public programs for the aged have been strategically planned and implemented to avoid economic catastrophe for the aging family, a social value dominating public policy for the last 50 years. Two such catastrophes, income maintenance and acute medical care, have been resolved by the Social Security Act. The third, continuity of care, is reviewed and defined. Medicare revision is proposed that provides integrated funding for acute, sub-acute, and long-term care as elements of continuity of care.