Medicaid long-term health care costs to soar

from Reuters: 



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fueled by the needs of a growing elderly population, spending on long-term health care under the Medicaid program will soar in the next 20 years, a report released Monday predicted.
Spending for long-term care for elderly and disabled people under the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor will total $3.7 trillion in the next two decades, according to the report by America's Health Insurance Plans, an industry group.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

New Data on Kaiserhealthfacts

from Kaiserhealthfacts.org: 


Statehealthfacts.org Updates Data on Demographics, Health Insurance Coverage, Household Income, Nursing Homes, and More
Statehealthfacts.org has updated all demographic and health coverage topics based on the the Foundation's Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) and Urban Institute's analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's March 2008 Current Population Survey (CPS). Demographic characteristics for the total population and people living in poverty for 2006-2007 based on the CPS are now available, together with 2006-2007 health coverage data presented by age, income, sex, race, and other demographic measures for all states and the nation. Also available are  trends in coverage for the nonelderly population, adults, and children from 2004-2007 by state and for the nation.  The latest data on state and national median annual household income from the CPS  are also now available for 2005-2007. Updated Bureau of Labor Statistics information on health care employment and workers represented by unions has been added for 2007 for all states and the nation. Other updates include 2007 state-by-state data from the Social Security Administration on SSDI beneficiaries and new 2007 data from the University of California at San Francisco on nursing homes for all states and the nation.  KCMU's Medicaid and Children's Health interactive fact sheets have also been updated to reflect the latest demographic and health coverage data from the CPS.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

Yarwood: U.S. must stabilize economy to preserve long-term care, retirement accounts

from McKnight's: 


Congress came to an agreement Wednesday on a $700 bailout package for the faltering financial sector. Such action is good news for long-term care and seniors' retirement accounts, according to Bruce Yarwood, president of the American Health Care Association.

"It's imperative that our nation's leaders address our faltering economy in order to ensure stability for our nation, stability of American jobs, stability for the entire business sector including long-term care and stability of the retirement accounts of hardworking Americans," Yarwood told McKnight's. 

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

Racial Disparities in Access to Long-Term Care: The Illusive Pursuit of Equity

from Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law: 


While nursing homes were insulated from civil-rights enforcement at the time of the implementation of the Medicare program and lagged behind other parts of the health sector in providing comparable access to minorities, they are the only providers for which current reporting requirements make it possible to fully assess racial disparities in use and quality of care. We find that African Americans' use of nursing homes in 2000 in the United States was 14 percent higher than Caucasians' use. The largest relative African American use of nursing homes in 2000 took place in the South and West. Average nursing-home case-mix acuity for African Americans and Caucasians were essentially identical, suggesting that shifts in payment incentives have eliminated the selective admission of easy-care private-pay (predominantly Caucasian) patients and helped fuel the growth of private pay home care and assisted living for this segment of the population. While these shifts in incentives helped increase the use of nursing homes by African Americans, a high degree of segregation and disparity in the quality of the nursing homes used by African Americans persists. Parity in use is an illusive benchmark for measuring progress in assuring equity in treatment.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

Ever-Expanding Seniors Helping Seniors In-Home Services Now Has 50 Franchise Territories In 15 States

from longtermcareprovider.com: 



Reading, PA - Seniors Helping Seniors In-Home Services (SHS), the national caregiver and companionship organization that uniquely matches seniors needing non-medical in-home services with seniors who provide them, has grown rapidly in less than three years to currently include some 50 franchise territories in 15 states across the U.S.
Launched in January 2005 by co-founders Philip and Kiran Yocom, the for-profit Seniors Helping Seniors locations meet the rapidly expanding demand of older Americans who want to remain in their own homes and remain self-sufficient. It also caters to the fast-growing number of caregivers, especially those helping aging parents.
Seniors Helping Seniors In-Home Services has five master license holders running multi-state territories and franchise partners with single or multiple locations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Michigan and California.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

Rite Aid Offers Help To Stressed Caregivers

from longtermcareprovider.com: 



CAMP HILL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Being a caregiver can be very stressful for the more than 44 million Americans charged with taking care of an aging loved one. That's why Rite Aid has launched its new "Giving Care for Parents" program with print and online resources that offer solutions to common caregiving problems, expert advice from Rite Aid pharmacists and geriatric authorities and a library of informational videos. Caregivers also will be able to establish an online network of support through chats with other caregivers later this year.
In the 20-page Caregivers Guide available at Rite Aid stores across the country, caregivers will find helpful hints on topics including financial planning, strategies for balancing their careers and personal lives and advice for living with their loved ones. The guide also has information on support groups, programs and other resources such as medical facilities and businesses that cater to seniors and caregivers.
At www.riteaid.com, caregivers can click on "Giving Care for Parents" and find resources such as a collection of articles written by medical and geriatric professionals, nursing home staff and government experts on aging addressing common concerns such as accidents at home, long-term care, legal and financial issues and health conditions like Alzheimer's disease.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

Long-term Care Often Left Out of Talks on Healthcare Reform

from Medpage Today: 


WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 -- Long-term care seems to be a poor stepchild in the healthcare-reform debate.

So suggested Susan Dentzer, editor-in-chief of Health Affairs, who moderated a symposium here on how to provide and pay for long-term care for those with chronic diseases.

According to Dentzer, neither major presidential candidates has addressed the issue of how to pay for the 12 million elderly Americans who require some form of long-term care -- defined as any social or medical services for people with chronic disease.

As the nation's 78 million baby boomers continue to age, the number of elderly people requiring long-term care will only increase and is expected to reach 20 million, according to Genworth Financial, a long-term care insurance provider that sponsored the event.


Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

Health alliance formed to assist elderly - Business First of Buffalo:

A new initiative is bringing together private and non-profit nursing homes and providers of care for the elderly.

The Western New York Alliance for Person-Centered Care was launched Sept. 19 as an initiative aimed at transforming the way nursing homes and other providers deliver care to the elderly.

The initiative, described as the first of its kind nationwide, includes members from throughout the region’s long-term care community, including the Catholic Health System, Beechwood Homes, People Inc.Kaleida Health and the Erie County Home. Other participants include government regulators and academics from the University at Buffalo. The Rochester-based Pioneer Network of homes is also a participant.

More than 300 long term health care professionals participated in a launch conference Sept. 19 featuring William Thomas, a renowned geriatrician and revolutionary in the long term care industry.

The goal of the alliance is to effect change through a community-based strategic plan to introduce, refine, and promote person-centered care through education and mentoring.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

New safety survey available from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released a new survey to help nursing homes assess safety, track changes in resident safety over time, and evaluate the impact of safety interventions.


The survey and other toolkit materials are available on the AHRQ Web site athttp://www.ahrq.gov/qual/hospculture/.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

ADAPT Action Wrap Up and more thoughts on empathy

I have returned now to the “real world” and am coming down off of the natural high of the ADAPT action. The adrenaline of that 5 days was pretty extraordinary. I heard several stories explaining why and how the arrests went down at Dodd’s office — and several other offices of members of congress, apparently. Rather than relate them here, with the inaccuracies of sleep deprived memory, let me point you to ADAPT’s press releases: http://duhcity.org/duhpress.html. They are all informative, but the first on the list — http://duhcity.org/press/duh004.html — is the most relevant to the action that happened on Tuesday on Capitol Hill.
One thing of note that you won’t find on the press release pages is a description of how I spent my Tuesday night. More...

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/