You are caring for a loved one. On top of everything else, you feel absolutely alone—as if you are doing this tough work with no help. But maybe, just maybe, you have more support than you think. A creative tool called Atlas CareMaps is a deceptively simple but powerful way to identify all the connections in your life. It helps [...]
A first-in-the-nation state long-term care insurance program is likely to become law within a few weeks. In Washington State, both houses of the legislature have approved the measure, though they must resolve relatively minor differences between the two bills. Gov. Jay Inslee has promised to sign it. Washington would be the first state in the US to enact a public [...]
Washington State may soon approve the nation’s first publicly-funded long-term care insurance program. The measure, called the Long-Term Care Trust Act, would provide a maximum benefit of $36,500 for people who need assistance with at least three activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, toileting, transferring, dressing, or eating. It would be funded with a payroll tax (or what [...]
A new report this week about future increases in Medicare spending set off wildly misleading headlines about the program’s future and what is might mean for efforts to expand it, as many prominent Democrats are proposing. As you wade through all this, there may be much less to the new forecast than meets the eye. Keep in mind three points: [...]
In 10 years, the federal government will spend half its budget (not counting interest on the debt) on those aged 65 and older. The inexorable aging of the Baby Boom generation means that a growing share of federal spending will be used to support older adults—mostly for health care and retirement benefits. As CBO importantly notes, it is misleading to [...]
Would you buy a term life insurance policy that automatically converts to long-term care coverage once you reach retirement age? How about paying a modest additional premium to add some home care benefits to your Medicare Supplemental (Medigap) insurance or your Medicare Advantage plan? Minnesota, a state that has been a leader in long-term care delivery reform, may soon experiment [...]
The long-predicted shortage of personal care aides is here. And it is creating enormous challenges for frail older adults and people with disabilities living at home as well as for operators and residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. This shortage inevitably will drive up costs for services that already are unaffordable for many consumers. They will increase financial [...]
On Tuesday, voters in Maine will decide whether to create the nation’s first universal public home care benefit for older adults and younger people with disabilities. The hotly debated referendum, Ballot Question 1, would be funded through a surtax on high-income households. The measure was introduced by the Main People’s Alliance and is supported by many progressive and consumer groups. [...]
The Trump Administration and a bipartisan majority in Congress have moved to allow Medicare Advantage managed care plans to offer a wide range of personal services such as home delivered meals, transportation, and bathroom grab bars—to members who need them. This would be a sea change in the way Medicare has supported older adults with chronic conditions for the past [...]
Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ), the senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is proposing a new universal Medicare long-term care benefit. His bill, still in draft form, initially would provide a daily cash benefit of about $100 after a two-year waiting period. As an alternative to the waiting period, Pallone is also considering a cash deductible that would [...]