Slowly but surely, more people who receive Medicaid benefits for long-term supports and services are getting their care at home rather than in nursing facilities. Still, only about 3.3 million seniors and younger people with disabilities who require long-term care get such help at home—about 1 million more than in 2000. Overall, the program now spends about $50 billion or [...]
Too often, we stash our elders away in institutional residential care facilities. And, sadly, even many active seniors choose to separate themselves from the broader world, opting for what they see as the safety and security of gated communities. This week, I spent a couple of days in Rochester, N.Y., where the St John’s Living Community has developed two [...]
Medicaid is in the budget bull’s eye. But many lawmakers aiming to cut the program have no idea what it does, and how important it is to frail seniors who need help with daily living. The popular image of Medicaid: health care for a poor mother and her children. The all-too-common reality: long-term supports and services for an 85-year old [...]
With the election behind him, Barack Obama's first item of business will be dealing with the fiscal cliff--that toxic combination of tax increases and automatic spending cuts that are due to kick in on Jan 2, unless Congress acts to delay or replace them with a long-term deficit reduction plan. Going over the cliff would mean deep cuts in a wide range of government programs. [...]
Last week, Medicare agreed to expand its skilled nursing care and rehabilitation therapy benefit for some people with chronic disease, including many elderly. This added care, which came in a settlement of a lawsuit brought by a Vermont woman named Glenda Jimmo, the Center for Medicare Advocacy, and others is potentially very important for some Medicare beneficiaries. But the settlement [...]
With the presidential election in less than two weeks, consumers, advocates, and providers should pay attention to what Barack Obama and Mitt Romney would do about long-term supports and services for the frail elderly and younger people with disabilities. It is hard to know for sure, because neither man has said much. Yet, between the lines, there are important messages. [...]
Patient-centered care (as it is described by doctors) or person-centered care (the phrase-more frequently used in non-medical settings) is one of those concepts everyone supports--except when it comes to the details. On Nov. 8-9, I'll be participating in a two-day symposium sponsored by the Samueli Institute aimed at breaking down the barriers between the medical and non-medical world and seeking evidence [...]
Last week, I wrote about an important new survey of family caregivers that shows nearly half are performing work that is often done by nurses, such as managing medications, caring for wounds, and operating medical equipment. The report, by AARP and United Hospital Fund, sheds important light on the often unrecognized role of these family caregivers. And it raises a critical question: [...]
Being a family caregiver is a lot harder than it used to be. Providing personal assistance, such as help eating or bathing, is tough enough. But now, many family caregivers are acting more like nurses. They have to manage medications, change dressings on wounds, and even monitor and operate medical equipment, from home dialysis to mechanical ventilators. According to a new survey by the AARP Public Policy Institute [...]
In the past few months, important events and circumstances have highlighted the need for an effective, sustainable way to finance the often-astronomical costs of long-term care services and supports. The growing political and financial pressures on Medicaid--the state/federal program that funds nearly half of all paid long-term care; the deepening problems in the private long-term care insurance market; and the demise of the CLASS Act--the failed attempt to [...]