For months, families and operators of long-term care facilities have been telling me about the indirect toll the covid-19 pandemic has taken on residents. Not on those who have sickened or died from the virus, but on those whose quality of life has been severely harmed by the social isolation it caused. Now, we are beginning to learn more about [...]
It sounds like a great idea: Move people out of long-stay nursing facilities and back into their communities, and give them flexibility to spend government dollars on the care they need. Such a change could make care more person-centered and reduce costs. But a federal/state demonstration aimed at achieving that goal has moved very few people. For six years, the federal government and state [...]
Despite the fears of consumer advocates and the predictions of many insurance companies, seniors are flocking to Medicare Advantage managed care plans. It shouldn’t be a surprise since premiums for these policies are a fraction of the cost of traditional fee-for-service Medicare. This shift may be one driver of the recent slowdown in the growth of health care costs and [...]