Half of Medicare beneficiaries, about 30 million people, are enrolled in Medicare managed care plans such as Medicare Advantage (MA). And increasingly those plans are offering modest, but important, non-medical services to older adults living at home. These supplemental services are the only long-term care-type benefits most seniors will receive through Medicare. The assistance may include anything from meal and [...]
Medicare Advantage managed care plans, which in 2021 covered 26 million enrollees, will get an average 8.5 percent increase in total Medicare payments next year. At the same time, MA plans are rapidly embracing a wide range of social services and supports for older adults living at home. Sometimes called long-term care lite, these benefits range from meal and food [...]
In 2020, Medicare beneficiaries will have more opportunities to join Medicare Advantage (MA) managed care plans that offer limited personal supports and services such as home care, non-medical transportation, nutrition programs, and home modifications. The benefits, first allowed by the federal government for 2019, are not full-blown long-term care, but they do provide critical services and supports that may make [...]
Many policymakers, health care and insurance executives, and consumer advocates argue that better integrating medical care with long-term supports and services (LTSS) can both save money and improve the well-being of frail elders and younger people with disabilities. It seems logical, and there is some tantalizing evidence that it is true. Unfortunately, health care is filled with ideas that sound [...]
The huge two-year budget agreement reached by Congress early this morning will, for the first time, allow Medicare to pay for some long-term supports and services. Medicare managed care plans, called Medicare Advantage (MA), can now include non-medical services, such as home-delivered meals or rides to a doctor, in their benefit packages. The bill includes other changes to Medicare, including [...]
Last week, the Senate quietly and unanimously passed a bill that would improve some Medicare benefits for people with chronic disease. The measure would do many good things but the most important is this: It would take important steps toward breaking down the wall between medical treatment and non-medical supports and services in Medicare, beginning a process that would make [...]