House Republicans are right that Medicaid needs to be more flexible. But more flexibility with far fewer dollars won’t improve care for seniors, younger people with disabilities, or other beneficiaries of the program. It is possible to cut red tape without slashing spending. Congress should give it a try. Medicaid is a critical safety net for people who need personal [...]
President Trump’s initial budget framework would slash programs for seniors and younger people with disabilities, especially those aiming to remain at home rather than move to a nursing home or other residential care. Combined with the House GOP’s proposed health plan, it may severely limit access to federally-funded medical care, personal assistance, and other supports and services. The Trump fiscal [...]
From the perspective of older adults, there is little good to say about the House Republican health care bill. The American Health Care Act (AHCA) would significantly raise insurance costs for people in their 50s and 60s, reduce important Medicaid benefits for the frail elderly, and put more financial pressure on Medicare. Last week, I took a first look at [...]
House Republicans have proposed a major rewrite of the Affordable Care Act that would increase the cost of health insurance for older workers and profoundly change the Medicaid support system for the most vulnerable. It would be the biggest change in government assistance for long-term care since the creation of Medicaid a half century ago. The proposal would retain the [...]
We may be about to have a new debate over “death panels.” If we do, it would be a tragedy for tens of millions of Americans and their families. You may remember this small piece of the Affordable Care Act that garnered outsized attention back in 2010. It allowed Medicare to pay physicians for having end-of-life conversations with their patients. [...]
Which statement is true? 1) Medicare will impose huge burdens on future taxpayers by providing trillions of dollars in government-funded health care to older adults. 2) Many seniors face massive, unaffordable out-of-pocket health costs in old age, even with that government assistance. The answer is: Both. And that’s the challenge policymakers must confront as they debate what to do about [...]
As the debate over remaking the US health system heats up, I’d like to make a modest request: Let’s stop talking about Obamacare. Drop the partisan, misleading, counterproductive, and increasingly irrelevant hot button label. Instead let’s talk about the pros and cons of what are likely to be some complex and far-reaching changes to the way Americans get their medical [...]
A proposal by congressional Republicans aimed at reducing health insurance costs for young people would substantially boost premiums for those over age 50, according to a new analysis by the actuarial firm Milliman Inc. The proposal could result in up to 18,000 older adults losing health coverage and increase the cost of federal insurance subsidies by $6.7 billion, if the [...]
Is Medicaid’s long-term care benefit a zero-sum game where limited resources are shifted from one beneficiary to another? For instance, could the government significantly increase long-term care benefits for some by barring people from using spousal annuities to qualify for Medicaid? Or should resources be expanded to provide all eligible seniors and younger people with disabilities the care they need? [...]
The Trump Administration and congressional Republicans seem to be moving full speed towards capping federal payments for Medicaid--a design sometime called block grants. But they may be missing a key piece of the story: Two-thirds of the program’s dollars go to the frail elderly and younger people with disabilities. The stereotype of a Medicaid beneficiary is a poor mom and [...]