Health and Disability

All human beings have an unqualified entitlement to respect for their dignity and uniqueness.
People needing assistance and long-term care have the same rights as everybody else and
should in no way be disadvantaged as a result of their special circumstances. The state and
society have a special responsibility to protect the human dignity of those in need of longterm
care and assistance since this group is often not in a position to represent its own interests.
The aim of this Charter is to strengthen the role and the legal position of people in need of
long-term care and assistance by summarising the basic and indisputable rights of those
people in need of assistance, support and care. These rights are an expression of respect for
human dignity and are thus also anchored in numerous national and international legal texts1.
They are elaborated on in the explanatory notes to the articles in relation to various key aspects
and situations in the lives of those needing long-term care and assistance. The Charter
also formulates quality criteria and objectives which should be the goals of all good long-term
care and support.

and much more……..

Die_Charta_in_Englisch.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Financing Comprehensive Health Care Reform:
Proposed Health System Savings and Revenue Options
The U.S. health care system is in crisis. This crisis is not limited to the 46 million who lack
health insurance – it extends to those who have health coverage but are worried about increasing
costs. Rising health care costs affect families and American businesses, as health insurance
premiums continue to outpace wages and inflation. Between 1999 and 2008, premiums for
employer-sponsored health benefits increased 117 percent for families and individuals and 119
percent for employers. And annual health spending growth is expected to outpace average annual
growth in the overall economy by 2.1 percentage points in each of the next ten years. In 2009 alone,
health spending will increase 5.5 percent while gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to decrease
0.2 percent.
Rising health care costs also have a significant impact on federal and state health care programs.
Last week’s release of the 2009 Medicare Trustees Report indicates that the Medicare Hospital
Insurance (HI) Trust Fund will be exhausted in 2017, two years earlier than last year’s report.
Spending for Medicare and Medicaid is projected to increase by 114 percent in ten years. Over
the same period, the GDP is projected to grow by just 64 percent. Last year, health spending in
the U.S. represented 16.6 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP) – a much greater share
than any other industrialized country. And according to the most recent National Health
Expenditure estimates, health care expenditures will consume over 20 percent of the GDP by
2018, an amount representing $4.4 trillion in annual spending.

and much more……..

051809 Health Care Description of Policy Options.pdf (application/pdf Object)

The Coalition to Protect Senior Care (CPSC) -- a national coalition of frontline clinician and caregiver groups providing quality skilled nursing care -- commended the U.S. Senate Finance Committee for including long term care considerations in their roundtable discussion on Reforming America's Health Care Delivery System. The discussion was the leading session in a series of roundtables on the financial aspects of health care reform as Congress considers comprehensive health care reform legislation this year.

"Speaking on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of dedicated front-line caregivers in America's skilled nursing facilities, we commend Chairman Baucus, Ranking Member Grassley and the Committee for recognizing the vital role long term care plays within the spectrum of health care delivery by including eldercare as part of this important policy roundtable," said Lori Porter, co-founder of the National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA) and CPSC. "As-is, direct care workers in skilled nursing facilities are already challenged with funding issues and staffing shortages, estimated at 110,000 nationwide; we particularly hope to work with Congress to stimulate job growth in long term care in order to not only improve patient care, but also help stimulate critical economic recovery efforts."……

Coalition to Protect Senior Care Applauds Inclusion of Long Term Care in Senate Finance Committee Roundtable Discussion on Health Care Delivery System - Yahoo! News

To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to allow States to permit certain Medicaid eligible individuals who have extremely high annual lifelong orphan drug costs to continue on Medicaid notwithstanding increased income.

H.R.1441: Ryan Dant Health Care Opportunity Act... OpenCongress

…….A briefing held at the Kaiser Foundation yesterday discussed the issues that must be addressed as congressional leaders work on proposals for universal coverage that might include the expansion of Medicaid.  Some of those  issues included:

• Cost at the state and federal level
• Variance in federal match rate for states
• Eligibility in terms of income and health status
• Provider payment rates
• Balance between public programs and private insurance

The briefing is available via webcast.

Examining Medicaid as an Option for Health Reform at Health Care for Health Care Workers

As the population ages, more working adults are be providing informal care to a chronically ill older relative, however this informal care-giving may result in a 20% loss of work productivity for each employed caregiver…….

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149886.php

Choice, privacy and a sense of identity are just some of the things that older people living in residential care need to maintain a good quality of life, according to research in the May issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing……Medical News Today

A draft version of the new MDS 3.0 for nursing homes and long-term care facilities was posted Monday on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Web site.
The MDS 3.0 draft version is not the final version, CMS warns, and should not be used for training purposes. The final version is slated for release in October of this year, and will include the item set, data specifications and RAI manual. Any questions or comments on the draft version should be directed to MDS30Comments@cms.hhs.gov.
The draft version of the MDS 3.0 and a timeline for its implementation can be found by searching for "MDS 3.0" on the CMS Web site, or by visiting the following Web address: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NursingHomeQualityInits/25_NHQIMDS30.asp.

Medicare patients with diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or congestive heart failure that used home healthcare within 3 months of being discharged from a hospital cost the program $1.71 billion less and had 24,000 fewer re-hospitalizations than similar patients that used other forms of post-acute care over a two-year period. The analysis, released by Avalere Health, also found that if cumulated to the full set of Medicare beneficiaries in the study group that utilized other forms of post-acute care, the program would have saved an additional $1.77 billion.

Avalere Shows Home Health Interventions Associated With Lower Medicare Spending And Re-Hospitalizations For Patients With Chronic Illness

As many as 155,000 civilian and military employees and retirees enrolled in the federal long-term care insurance program can expect their premiums to increase by as much as 25 percent later this year or early next year.
The increases will affect most of those who are enrolled in the program’s “automatic compound inflation protection” option. Under this option, enrollees’ benefit payments increase 5 percent annually, but premiums do not regularly increase. Under the new policy, however, a range of premium increases will go into effect, depending on the age at which an enrollee first signed up for coverage. Enrollees who first purchased coverage at age 65 or younger face a premium increase of 25 percent. Those who purchased coverage between the ages of 65 and 70 face smaller increases. Those who purchased at age 70 or older face no increase.

Long-term care premiums to jump up to 25% | mySBX