Money Follows the Person is a cornerstone of the federal government's effort to move Medicaid beneficiaries from nursing homes into the community. But a new study commissioned by Medicaid itself shows how difficult those transitions can be. In the 30 states that have been testing the program over the past three years, only 8,500 people have used MFP to return to their communities. That's [...]
Powerful Republicans are pushing the twin ideas of capping the federal contribution to Medicaid and eliminating federal regulation of the program. These changes would do profound damage to the Medicaid benefit for long-term care, whether it is provided at home or in nursing facilites. This plan would turn Medicaid from a federal entitlement into a block grant. Over time, states would be responsible [...]
President Obama's 2012 budget is the latest indication of the growing pressures government-provided aging services will face in coming years. And as tight as his budget is, spending on assistance for poor and frail seniors is likely to end up much lower than Obama proposed. With congressional Republicans vowing to cut $100 billion from domestic spending over the remaining seven [...]