The massive pandemic relief bill that the House is likely to approve by the end of this week includes billions of dollars in new funding for government long-term services and supports (LTSS) for frail older adults and young people with disabilities. But, paradoxically, the most far-reaching change may be from a temporary funding increase for Medicaid home and community-based services [...]
Is the growing need for long-term supports and services (LTSS) by older adults driving big increases in Medicaid spending? Not according to a new study by Don Redfoot and my Urban Institute colleague Melissa Favreault. Indeed, they found that while Medicaid enrollment and expenditures for older adults grew in recent decades, it had far less effect on the program than [...]
The Trump Administration announced last week that it will allow states to require Medicaid recipients to work, take job training, or do community service to stay eligible for the program, which provides both medical and long-term care services for people with low incomes. Ten states have asked to make this change, and the administration has given the greenlight to the [...]
Congress took two big steps this week that could have a major impact on seniors and younger people with disabilities. The one that got the most attention, of course, was the Senate’s failure to pass a replacement for the Affordable Care Act. The second, which was barely noticed, was a series of key decisions by House Republicans on how much [...]
The best that can be said about President Trump’s 2018 budget and older adults: It could have been worse. In a fiscal plan focused on historic domestic spending cuts, programs for older adults were hit by substantial reductions, though not slashed as deeply as other domestic programs. Medicare was largely untouched. So was Social Security for seniors, although Trump would [...]
Congress and President Trump took dead aim at seniors and younger people with disabilities this week. First, Congress voted to cut or freeze funding for key federal senior service programs. Then the House passed its bill to replace the Affordable Care Act—a measure that would make health insurance unaffordable for many people aged 50-64, allow insurance companies to sell policies [...]
House Republicans are right that Medicaid needs to be more flexible. But more flexibility with far fewer dollars won’t improve care for seniors, younger people with disabilities, or other beneficiaries of the program. It is possible to cut red tape without slashing spending. Congress should give it a try. Medicaid is a critical safety net for people who need personal [...]
House Republicans have proposed a major rewrite of the Affordable Care Act that would increase the cost of health insurance for older workers and profoundly change the Medicaid support system for the most vulnerable. It would be the biggest change in government assistance for long-term care since the creation of Medicaid a half century ago. The proposal would retain the [...]
The Trump Administration and congressional Republicans seem to be moving full speed towards capping federal payments for Medicaid--a design sometime called block grants. But they may be missing a key piece of the story: Two-thirds of the program’s dollars go to the frail elderly and younger people with disabilities. The stereotype of a Medicaid beneficiary is a poor mom and [...]
Medicaid long-term care is rapidly changing, and some of those trends may eventually remake the way all of us receive personal assistance as we age or become disabled. Nearly half of all states are now providing Medicaid long-term care benefits through managed care, and 13 states are requiring older adults to receive care that way. At the same time, four [...]