Life expectancy for older adults has increased dramatically in recent years. But do more years in old age mean more time struggling with serious illness and frailty? A new study by two highly respected health care economists comes up with a surprising answer: No. Even as seniors are living longer, their overall health in old age appears to be improving [...]
President Trump’s decision to revoke what’s known as Temporary Protective Status for immigrants from a dozen countries will severely damage health and long-term care in the US. More than 1 million people are at risk of being deported as a result of the move, including 350,000 from Haiti, many of whom work in health and long-term care. Trump cancelled TPS [...]
Besides helping protect millions of Americans from the costs of long-term services and supports, well-designed long-term care financing reform also could sharply lower Medicaid costs. Even better: One version of reform, public insurance, could give care recipients and their families significantly more flexibility in designing their own care. Over the long run, a public catastrophic long-term care insurance program could [...]
The nursing home business is tough. Few want to live in them It is hard to make money running a good one. Government regulations make creative care a huge challenge. And they have a reputation, too often deserved, of being unpleasant and even dangerous places to live and work. Yet, I sometimes come across a skilled nursing facility that trashes [...]
Many of the roughly 10-14 million middle-income older adults in the US are attracted to senior living communities and are prime candidates to move. And collectively they have hundreds of billions of dollars to spend. But they don’t relocate because they can’t afford it. The vast majority of these developments—whether stand-alone independent living or continuing care communities (known as CCRCs) [...]
Long-term care costs are rising even as families struggle to keep up with increases in their ordinary living expenses, making it tougher than ever to save for personal care needs in old age. That combination is raising interest in public long-term care insurance. But what would a public program cost? It all depends on the design, but we are learning [...]
The US health system often is plagued by too much of a (sometimes) good thing. Doctors order a test or treatment and then continue them for the rest of the patient’s life, whether they really need them or not. And, often, they are ongoing for no good reason, despite potential risks to patients. The current Journal of the American Medical [...]
We soon will learn what Congress and the Trump Administration have in store for Medicaid. But while the state/federal program has become a high-profile target, it is widely misunderstood. And so are the consequences of major Medicaid changes for older adults, people with disabilities, and their families. Yes, Medicaid provides medical insurance for low-income working age people and their children. [...]
Voters in Washington State have decided to keep the state’s first-in-the-nation public long term care insurance program. On Tuesday, they easily rejected a ballot initiative that would have killed the far-reaching law. The WA Cares law provides up to $36,500 in long-term care insurance benefits, with the amount increasing with inflation. It is funded with a payroll tax surcharge of [...]
For decades, the desperate need for government to help support middle-income frail older adults, younger people with disabilities, and their family members has been clear. Until now, lawmakers largely have done nothing about it. But that finally may be changing. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for President, has proposed an ambitious expansion of traditional Medicare that would, for [...]