The state of Hawaii is about to have a fascinating debate over whether to create a first-in-the-nation universal long-term care insurance program. The benefit would be modest—about $70-per-day for a year-- but it would be available to all long-term residents of the state and be funded through a broad-based tax. The measure will be introduced by Senate Commerce, Consumer [...]
Can the US do a better job of designing long-term care insurance? The answer is yes, according to two important new studies. With hard work and political will, we can develop better ways to help pay the enormous cost of long-term supports and services. The new research is a big step towards improved financing of these services. It did not find a “magic bullet.” But [...]
Older adults are getting too much medical treatment. No, I am not suggesting we ration treatment for seniors or empower the mythical death panels. Rather, the health system should replace aggressive but ultimately useless medical interventions with more care. This means rethinking the way we care for older adults with chronic disease. We should organize care around the goal of improving their quality of life rather than on [...]
What are the odds you’ll need assistance to help with personal activities such as bathing or dressing before you die? For those about to turn 65, it’s about 50/50, according to an important new study. On average, you can expect to need this high level of care for about two years. But one-in-five Americans will need such assistance for less [...]
Today, America’s vision of long-term care is limited and grim. Supports and services for frail elders or younger people with disabilities are delivered in a fragmented, disorganized way that puts recipients of care at risk for serious harm or even death and likely wastes billions of dollars. Indeed, if the goal of supports and services is to provide the best [...]
The number of people needing long-term supports and services is likely to double by mid-century, and there is broad agreement across the political spectrum that our system for delivering and financing that care is, frankly, terrible. But for years, these problems seemed intractable. How could we break the political gridlock that has infected this issue, along with so many others? [...]
Cancer researchers are closer than ever to achieving their long-held dream of turning the disease from a death sentence to a chronic illness. This would be a remarkable scientific achievement. But while people may soon routinely live decades with their cancer in remission or even cured, they will not become immortal. Most will eventually suffer from some other debilitating condition and [...]
A powerful bipartisan group of U.S. senators wants to improve medical care for older Americans with chronic disease. By doing so, they are taking an important step in improving the health and quality of life of these seniors. But so far at least, they are focusing on only half the problem. While older people with chronic conditions do need improved [...]
For decades, seniors and others with chronic illness have had to scale a seemingly insurmountable barrier built by the health care system, aided and abetted by Medicare and Medicaid. On one side of the wall was medical care, mostly controlled by doctors, hospitals, drug companies, and skilled nursing facilities. Medicare paid them to do as many medical procedures as possible, and [...]
For an important clue into the future of senior care in the U.S., watch Kindred Healthcare, a $5 billion company that operates in 47 states. As recently as 2010, half of Kindred’s business was generated by its skilled nursing facilities. This year, only one-fifth of its revenues will come from its nursing and rehab centers. In a major strategic shift, [...]