Blog - Page 73 of 76 - Howard Gleckman

Medicare Actuary: Few Will Buy CLASS Long-Term Care Insurance

In a Nov. 13 report, Chief Medicare actuary Rick Foster estimates that the CLASS Act--the proposed national long-term care insurance program--faces "a significant risk of failure" because few would buy the coverage, and those who do would likely have high long-term care expenses. This phenomenon, called adverse selection, would drive up the cost of premiums and further discourage healthy people from buying coverage. The study will [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2009-11-15T19:39:47-05:00November 15th, 2009|long term care reform, long-term care financing|4 Comments

New Hampshire Talks About Home Care

I spent today with the New Hampshire legislature's long-term care caucus and a group of stakeholders as they wrestled with the challenges of expanding the state's Medicaid home and community based care program for the elderly and adults with disabilities. Thanks to a kind invitation from State Representative Kate Miller, who chairs the caucus, AARP executive vp John Rother and I were able [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2009-11-12T20:26:21-05:00November 12th, 2009|Medicaid|1 Comment

eCareDiary: A Nice New Caregiver Website

John Mills, who cared for his dad for six years, has started a nice new website filled with practical tools and information for caregivers. You can find it at http://www.ecarediary.com/ For those caring for parents, this is one worth checking out.

By Howard Gleckman|2009-11-08T19:46:34-05:00November 8th, 2009|Caregiver tips|1 Comment

Will Tax Credits Sell Long-Term Care Insurance?

(I posted this yesterday on my TaxVox blog, but those interested in long-term care may be interested as well) Long-term care insurance has been a model of market failure. The need for care in frail old age or disability seems to be the ideal insurable event. Two-thirds of those over 65 will need some assistance before they die and 20 percent will [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2009-11-04T20:02:47-05:00November 4th, 2009|long-term care financing|0 Comments

CLASS Act is in House Health Bill, But Pitfalls Remain

It was a good day for supporters of the CLASS Act, the national long-term care insurance program that has been on the edges of the health reform debate. A version of the measure was included in the House Democratic reform bill introduced today by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The decison all but assures the long-term care proposal will be included in the [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2009-10-29T16:43:38-04:00October 29th, 2009|Health reform, long term care reform, long-term care financing|0 Comments

Erickson’s Bankruptcy and the Future of CCRCs

Lots of buzz about the Oct. 20 Chapter 11 bankruptcy and sale of Erickson Retirement Communities, one of the nation's premier developers of Continuing Care Retirement Communites. CCRCs are campus-like settings that promise lifetime care for seniors, from independent living to assisted living to nursing home care. These facilities operate on several different business models but Erickson, like many others, requires a hefty, [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2009-10-26T09:41:05-04:00October 26th, 2009|Senior housing|0 Comments

Elder Abuse

Elder abuse is one of those issues we prefer to not talk about. And, in truth, there is much we don't know about it. For instance, even the most basic data on how often abuse happens are notoriously unreliable. Yet, we know it occurs. And far too often. Financial scams, sometimes orchestrated by trusted advisers and friends; physical abuse by caregivers; physical abuse of caregivers (I [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2009-10-23T08:02:14-04:00October 23rd, 2009|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Changes and Growing Optimism for the CLASS Act

I spent yesterday morning at a Kaiser Family Foundation panel discussion on the CLASS Act, the national long-term care insurance program being considered as part of health reform. The panelists, who included Senate Health Committee aide Connie Garner and a number of advocates for long-term care reform, were upbeat about the possibility that CLASS will be included in a final health [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2009-10-21T09:41:45-04:00October 21st, 2009|Health reform, long term care reform, long-term care financing|0 Comments

Family Stress and Long-Term Care

When family caregivers are under a lot of stress, the chances increase that their loved ones will have to move to a nursing home. That's the conlusion of an important new study by my Urban Institute colleagues Brenda Spillman and Sharon Long. That conclusion may seem obvious to caregivers, but Spillman and Long back it up with some hard data. They found that [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2009-10-07T18:25:00-04:00October 7th, 2009|Uncategorized|3 Comments

Moses, Me, and the CLASS Act

The other day, long-term care insurance gadfly Stephen Moses called me "an advocate of more government financing and an enemy of private LTC financing alternatives." I assume he said this because I believe that reforms such as the CLASS Act, which would create a national long-term care insurance system, would be a far better way to pay for this assistance [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2009-09-27T11:28:49-04:00September 27th, 2009|long term care reform, long-term care financing|0 Comments