In an important symbolic step, 17 Senate Democrats announced they will work together to develop a plan to improve long-term services and supports in the US. The effort is led by the Senate Finance Committee’s top Democrat, Ron Wyden of Oregon, a long-time supporter of services for older adults and younger people with disabilities. Many of its participants are members [...]
In its efforts to prevent alleged widespread fraud in Medicare, federal regulators have blocked for at least six months any new home health and hospice providers from participating in these federal programs. This strategy may succeed in grabbing headlines but it won’t stem corruption and may limit access to care for many who need it. In the name of fraud [...]
With fuel prices skyrocketing due to his war in Iran, President Trump says he wants to suspend the federal gas tax “for a period of time.” GOP lawmakers immediately promised to introduce bills to do just that. And Democrats were way ahead of them: Back in March, senators Richard Blumenthal (D -CT) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) proposed pausing the levy [...]
There seems to be a growing consensus among policymakers that there is something very wrong with Medicaid’s long-term care benefit for frail older adults and younger people with disabilities. But there is deep disagreement about what to do about the program’s long-term services and supports benefit, called LTSS. President Trump and many congressional Republicans believe Medicaid LTSS is inefficient and [...]
A group of influential policy experts has designed a universal home care benefit for people with physical and cognitive limitations. In a major change from the existing system in the US, where government-funded long-term care is primarily a Medicaid benefit, they’d shift much home care to Medicare. Their plan would be available to anyone who has a significant need for [...]
The US health system often is plagued by too much of a (sometimes) good thing. Doctors order a test or treatment and then continue them for the rest of the patient’s life, whether they really need them or not. And, often, they are ongoing for no good reason, despite potential risks to patients. The current Journal of the American Medical [...]
One of the Trump Administration’s most glaring contradictions is this one: Top officials repeatedly promise to give consumers maximum choice in the care they receive. Yet, the same people are making it harder than ever to access one form of care overwhelmingly chosen by older adults, younger people with disabilities, and their families: home-based care. The White House is doing [...]
In a new experimental program, Medicare soon will pay participating doctors to provide better preventive care for frail older adults and younger people with disabilities. Among the initiatives, it will encourage greater support aimed at avoiding falls. The program, called Long-term Enhanced ACO Design, or LEAD, is an important step toward encouraging medical providers to help prevent falls before they [...]
It is impossible to have a conversation about caring for older adults (or most anything else for that matter) without pivoting to AI and related tech. It may be especially important when it comes to frail seniors, given the shortage of both paid aides and family caregivers—a situation likely to worsen as more Baby Boomers reach their 80s and draconian [...]
Critical food programs for older adults, such as Meals on Wheels, avoided major reductions in federal support when Congress finally approved a spending plan last month. But for the third year in a row, lawmakers froze funding for these efforts. And after taking into account rising costs and a growing population of frail older adults, no increase in funding inevitably [...]