What if you could be admitted to the hospital—in your own bedroom? That’s the idea of a health care model called Hospital at Home, which is aimed at elderly patients with diseases such as congestive heart failure, emphysema, urinary tract infections, or pneumonia. According to a new study published in the journal Health Affairs, people receiving this care through the [...]
Let me tell you about Frank. At 86, he has heart disease, diabetes, and kidney failure. He lives at home but struggles with the 16 medications he must take every day. He could also use some social support--maybe an adult day program, help shopping, or just somebody to keep him company. What Frank needs most of all is somebody who can help organize all of his medical [...]
This morning, I was on Diane Rehm's NPR radio show talking about long-term care insurance. The other guests--former Social Security Administrator Ken Apfel, Families USA executive director Ron Pollack, and Kiplinger's Personal Financec olumnist Kim Lankford--and I agreed on one thing: Private LTC insurance is an appropriate tool for some consumers, but it is not a realistic alternative for many others. The challenge is [...]
WBUR radio and Kaiser Health News report that the Massachusetts Senate has quietly approved a measure requiring doctors and nurses to discuss end of life options with patients who have a terminal illness. The Palliative Care Awareness bill was included as part of a sweeping health reform measure and, remarkably, was not controversial. It was supported by both Republicans and Democrats and [...]
A Pennsylvania state appeals court has ruled that the adult son of a nursing home resident is responsible for her unpaid $93,000 bill. And the decision has some elder care lawyers wondering if this is just the beginning of a trend. Pennsylvania is one of 30 states that have filial responsibility statutes—laws that impose a duty on adult children to [...]
Why would House Republicans slash programs that make it possible for the frail elderly and adults with disabilities to live at home? Especially since the alternative would often be more costly nursing home care. GOP lawmakers say they support Medicaid's Home and Community Based programs that provide long-term services and supports in the community rather than in nursing homes. Many GOP [...]
I recently had the opportunity to participate in a panel on end-of-life care jointly sponsored the Charles E. Smith Life Communities in Rockville MD, Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, MD,, and Sibley Hospital in Washington, D.C. The session was part of a day-long program on care transitions and highlighted the special importance of caring for the dying. My fellow panelists and I brought a wide [...]
The overuse of antipsychotic drugs “is one of the most common and longstanding, but preventable practices causing serious harm to nursing home residents today,” Toby Edelman of the Center for Medicare Advocacy told the Senate Aging Committee last week. She said these drugs are often used off-label (that is: for purposes other than the ones for which the FDA approved [...]
Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn) warned today that long-term care financing is "a major train wreck" and "heading for a national crisis." Corker, the senior Republican on the Senate Aging Committee, said he was very worried about the viability of private long-term care insurance and added , "there is no doubt there is a public sector role" in the future of financing [...]
Why not make insurance for long-term care services and supports part of health care coverage? It is a radical idea that turns the current model—which often treats long-term care insurance as an element of retirement planning—entirely on its head. The concept isn’t new. John Rother, who ran public policy for AARP for many years, talked about integrating long-term services and [...]