At first glance, it looks like Medicaid and other key government programs for the frail elderly and others with disabilities avoided a major hit in the debt limit agreement reached by Congress today. But in truth all of these programs remain in severe jeopardy. The complex deal calls for several stages of deficit reduction. The first is a cut of $25 billion [...]
A bipartisan deficit reduction plan proposed by the so-called "gang of six" Democratic and Republican senators would repeal the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act. CLASS, a national, voluntary long-term care insurance program, was included as part of the 2010 health law. The new budget plan, which President Obama called a "very significant step" also proposed significant, but unspecified [...]
A new study released today by AARP estimates the economic value of family caregiving was $450 billion in 2009. In other words, if those family members were paid for the personal assistance they provided their loved ones, it would have cost $450 billion. That is twice the cost of paid assistance by home health aides, nursing facilities and the like. It is almost four [...]
We Americans often fall into the trap of looking at our problems in isolation. But every nation in the world faces its own challenges when it comes to caring for the elderly and younger people with disabilities. An imporant new report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) provides an important international context for caregiving and caregivers in the developed [...]
Kaiser Health News published my column today on what Medicaid cuts would mean for seniors and others with disabilities. While most of the public and many policymakers never think about the importance of the Medicaid safety net for these people, the program is the nation's largest single payer of of long-term care supports and services. If future Medicaid benefits are reduced and most middle-class [...]
New federal legislation would make it easier for states to deny Medicaid health and long-term care benefits to the frail elderly and younger adults with disabilities. The new rules would also apply to low-income women and kids who rely on Medicaid for their medical care. The proposal, introduced yesterday by Representative Fred Upton (R-MI) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), would repeal an obscure piece of federal [...]
In recent weeks, I've written about what the House Republican plan to cap federal Medicaid contributions would mean to the frail elderly and younger adults with disabilities who are receiving care at home. Today, I'll take a look at what it would mean for skilled nursing facilites and their nearly 900,000 residents whose care is paid for by the joint federal/state program. The picture is [...]
As if we needed it, this week has provided yet more evidence that the world of both medical and long-term care services for seniors is changing in profound ways. It is complicated and hard to follow, but the bottom line is this: There will be increasingly less government support for the services frail seniors and their families need. And senior services [...]
The House Republican Budget proposal released today calls for the biggest changes in health and long-term care services for the elderly in a half-century. While there is no chance that these proposals will be enacted as proposed, they reflect a profound sea change in the way many in Washington look at assistance for seniors, and especially for the frail elderly. [...]
On Thursday, I'll be participating in an Urban Institute panel on the future of the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, the new national voluntary long-term care insurance program in the 2010 health reform law. It should be an interesting discussion, with other participants including Marty Ford, cochair of the Long Term Services and Supports Task Force, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities; Rhonda Richards of [...]