MHA Press Room

Survey: Experts view long-term care as pressing concern

Eight in 10 health care experts surveyed by the Commonwealth Fund last month said policymakers and health care leaders urgently need to secure adequate financing for long-term care. Roughly the same proportion favored adding a long-term care benefit to Medicare, financed by a premium, and saw an urgent need to develop the long-term care workforce and improve the quality of long-term care facilities. Spending on long-term care for the elderly is projected to more than double over the next 30 years, the report notes.

New resources look at nursing home reform 20 years after OBRA

The Kaiser Family Foundation has released resources that examine the results of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA '87), intended to improve the quality of nursing home care.

The resources include new opinion poll results on the public's views about the quality of long-term care services in the U.S.; a short film that explores the history of the landmark law; a new report that explains the key provisions of OBRA '87 and examines the progress in quality assurance in nursing homes over the past two decades; and an updated fact sheet, "Medicaid and Long-Term Care Services," by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.

There was also a moderated panel discussion with 10 experts led by Ed Howard of the Alliance for Health Reform and Diane Rowland of the Foundation.

For more information, click here.

New Report from Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured Explores Medicaid's Current and Future Challenges in Providing Long-Term Care

Medicaid has evolved to become the primary payer for long-term care (LTC) services and supports to low-income elderly and disabled individuals, financing nearly half (42 percent) of the nation’s spending on long-term care services. The structure and cost associated with the program’s role are key considerations as states begin to implement some of the changes passed as part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

The Foundation's Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured has released a report that presents an overview of Medicaid as a provider of LTC and highlights policy challenges facing the Medicaid program today. The report can be accessed here. Some of the issues addressed include:

• Integration of services for people who use long-term care, many who require substantial acute care, and needs beyond traditional health care;
• Varying disability criteria for Medicaid LTC coverage which can create potential inequalities across beneficiary groups and states;
• The relationship of means-testing benefits with other program goals such as community integration;
• Achieving a balance between institutional and community-based care, especially with the recent shift towards more community-based alternatives;
• Flexibility in benefit design which could accommodate more consumer preferences, but may create equity issues;
• Continued and improved focus on quality of care, especially with LTC provided in the community; and
• Future financing of the program’s LTC services as the number of users is projected to grow in coming years and the nation has yet to develop major, viable alternatives to Medicaid as a payer of these services.

The report is based on a roundtable discussion of policymakers and experts and drawn from a body of health services research. By gathering evidence and presenting data to address key Medicaid policy issues, the report can serve as a foundation for the current and ongoing policy debate regarding Medicaid’s future role as a provider of LTC services and supports for low-income elderly and disabled Americans.

Survey: Most Americans uninformed about long-term care costs

Most Americans are unaware of the costs associated with long-term care and overestimate the amount that government programs such as Medicare will pay, according to an AARP survey released Dec. 13. While 60% of respondents aged 45 and older were “somewhat familiar” with available long-term care services, only 8% could reasonably estimate the cost of nursing home care. Less than one-quarter could estimate the cost of assisted living or knew the cost of an in-home visit by a skilled nurse.

AARP plans to use the survey, along with an AARP state-by-state profile of long-term care and assisted living services, to educate the public and policymakers about the issue. “We are encouraging people to talk with their families, in advance of a crisis, about the kinds of care they would like to receive,” said Jennie Chin Hansen, RN, an AARP board member.

Report examines decline in nursing home use by elderly

A new report by the Lewin Group examines the decline in U.S. nursing home use and possible contributing factors. The report reviews existing data showing the share of U.S. seniors living in nursing homes declined to 3.6% in 2004 from 4.2% in 1985, led by a 7.2 percentage point drop in residents 85 and older.

Likely contributors to the decline in use include falling disability rates among the elderly, changes in Medicare reimbursement, the rise in alternatives to nursing homes (such as assisted-living facilities and home-based services), and increased availability of long-term care insurance, the authors say. In addition, the report cites state, federal and other actions since 1999 that have supported keeping people with disabilities at home and in the community.

[ via AHA News Now ]