Health and Disability

….VA estimates the number of veterans aged 75 and older has increased from about 2.6 million in 1995 to about 4.9 million in 2005. The older a person the more likely the need for long term care…..

…State veterans homes fill an important need for veterans with low income and veterans who desire to spend their last years with "comrades" from former active duty. The predominant service offered is nursing home care…..

…..From state to state, facilities vary in their rules for eligible veterans. Even in the same state it is common, where there is more than one state home, for some homes to have very stringent eligibility rules and others to be more lenient. These differing rules are probably based on the demand for care and the available beds in that particular geographic area……

…

Veterans Health Administration Long Term Care Benefits

The following was taken from a Department of Veterans Affairs fact sheet dated January 2005 and distributed by the office of public affairs media relations;…..

Veterans Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit - Long Term Care Benefits for Veterans

Nursing homes serving primarily Hispanic residents provided poorer quality care compared to facilities whose patients were mostly white, according to Brown University research. Details were published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.
Researchers reached their conclusions after looking at the rate of bed sores at nursing homes with high concentrations of Hispanic patients, compared to others with low concentrations. Hispanics at nursing homes with a high rate of Hispanic residents were more likely to have bed sores, compared to Hispanics living in nursing homes with fewer Hispanic residents……

Reduced Standard Of Care For Hispanics In Nursing Homes

A new report from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation finds that the overall distribution of spending on health insurance by employers, individuals, and government remained essentially the same between 2005, one year before passage of Massachusetts health reform, and 2007, one year after lawmakers passed the Massachusetts health care reform law. A critical component of the Massachusetts 2006 health reform statute was that the responsibility of paying for expanded access to health insurance be shared among the three groups……

Health Care Reform Is Working In Massachusetts

As President Barack Obama and Congress debate health care reform, it is important that long-term
care be included.1 While not central to providing basic health insurance to all Americans, long-term care
should be part of efforts to improve health care for all Americans. Contrary to widespread belief that longterm
care affects only a small minority of the population, 69 percent of people turning age 65 will need
long-term care before they die and a third of the population will spend some time in a nursing home
(Kemper, Komisar and Alecxih, 2005/2006). In thinking about the place of long-term care in the health
reform debate, four factors are important:
First, with the aging of the population, the number of older people with disabilities is sure to grow
substantially. According to one estimate, the number of older people with disabilities will approximately
double between 2000 and 2030 (Johnson, Toomey, and Wiener, 2007). As a result, the relative financial
and other burdens of long-term care will be greater in the future than they are now. Comprehensive
reform will need to take into account both the number of people needing long-term care in the future and
their characteristics, which may be very different than today…..

AllianceLTCPaper.pdf (application/pdf Object)

The prevalence of a certain form of drug-resistant bacteria, called multidrug-resistant gram-negative (MDRGN) organisms, far surpassed that of two other common antimicrobial-resistant infections in long-term care facilities, according to a study conducted by researchers at Hebrew SeniorLife's Institute for Aging Research.

Residents at long-term care facilities are one of the main reservoirs of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. Epidemiological studies have focused primarily on two common antimicrobial-resistant organisms-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureas (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE).

"Recently, it has become apparent that multidrug resistance among gram-negative bacteria is becoming an even greater problem in these facilities, with nearly half of long-term care facility residents harboring multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria," write the researchers, led by IFAR's Erin'O'Fallon, M.D., M.P.H., in the January issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences …..

Study finds multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria high in long-term care

n a recent commentary for the Rockefeller Institute of Government (“Health Care Reform: Thinking Long Term,” March 2009), Courtney Burke, director of the institute’s New York State Health Policy Research Center, brought attention to the role of U.S. states in modeling effective reforms for long-term care.

“For decades, states have been experimenting with ways to improve [long-term care’s] quality and reduce its costs,” she wrote. “State innovations could serve as models for nationwide reforms.”

Burke lists four examples:……

Policy Expert: States Provide Models for National LTC Reform at PHInational.org

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, the Center for Excellence in Assisted Living (CEAL) is a non-profit collaborative of 11 national organizations that builds upon the work of the Assisted Living Workgroup (ALW), [U.S. Senate Special Committed on Aging Initiative].

CEAL’s goal is to promote high-quality assisted living and server as a national clearinghouse, bringing together research, practices, and policy that foster quality and affordability in assisted living.

In this brief, CEAL discusses Medicaid and the long-term care implications with declining state budgets.  CEAL’s analysis is always very enlightening and presented in a compact format……

CEAL Issue Brief - Medicaid: Impact on Long-Term Care — Inside Assisted Living

Amidst today’s horrible economic news is a growing, bright light called aging.  It is a driving, transformational force in America that isn’t business as usual.

People over 50 represent 43% of all U.S. households.  By 2020 the senior population will number 115 million.  I and many others won’t stand for being warehoused, not having products that fit our desires and needs, or being depicted in a negative light, which media and Hollywood have so often done.

At Ecumen, we envision a world in which aging is viewed and understood in radically different ways.  Following are 10 of the many things we see changing in an aging America - in fact, some already are:

1.  Portable Personal Empowerment Technology: “Portable Personal Empowerment Technology” will become a major marketplace…….

10 Things Changing in an Aging America » Changing Aging - Ecumen

HealthCARE Act of 2009

To expand the number of individuals and families with health insurance coverage, and for other purposes.

current 111st session of congress Other Bill Titles (3 more)Hide Other Bill Titles

• Short: HealthCARE Act of 2009 as introduced.
• Short: Health Coverage, Affordability, Responsibility, and Equity Act of 2009 as introduced.
• Official: To expand the number of individuals and families with health insurance coverage, and for other purposes. as introduced.

2/10/2009--Introduced.
Health Coverage, Affordability, Responsibility, and Equity Act of 2009 or the HealthCARE Act of 2009 - Permits a state to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) for waivers of such provisions of law as may be necessary for the state to implement policies that make comprehensive, affordable health coverage available for all state residents. Requires the Secretary to establish a process for states to apply for a waiver to implement policies that emphasize the use of preventive services, care coordination by a personal physician, and health information technology.
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to allow state plans for medical assistance to provide Medicaid coverage to individuals who have incomes of no more than 100% of the poverty line.
Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) of SSA to permit states to provide child health assistance to all targeted low-income children. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a refundable credit for the cost of qualified health insurance for the taxpayer or qualifying family members. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program to make advance payments to health insurance providers of credit for health insurance costs of eligible low-income individuals. Establishes a program under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall ensure that eligible individuals can enroll in private group health insurance through a purchasing pool operator in participating states. Directs the Secretary to establish standards for state-based reinsurance programs and permits the Secretary to award grants to states to cover the costs of such programs. Directs the Secretary to establish the National Advisory Commission on Expanded Access to Health Care to assess the effectiveness of programs designed to expand health care coverage.
... morehide bill summary

Read and Comment on Full Bill Text

Sponsor

• Rep. Marcy Kaptur [D, OH-9]
• and 1 Co-Sponsors
  • Rep. Steven LaTourette [R, OH-14]
  close

Committees

• House Energy and Commerce
• 4 more
  • House Ways and Means
  • House Education and Labor
  • House Education and Labor
  • House Rules
  close

Amendments

This bill has no amendments.

Amendments to H.R.956

Number
Status
Purpose

OpenCongress - U.S. Congress - H.R.956 HealthCARE Act of 2009

Drug Rebate Equalization Act of 2009

A bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to reduce the costs of prescription drugs for enrollees of Medicaid managed care organizations by extending the discounts offered under fee-for-service Medicaid to such organizations.

• Short: Drug Rebate Equalization Act of 2009 as introduced.
• Official: A bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to reduce the costs of prescription drugs for enrollees of Medicaid managed care organizations by extending the discounts offered under fee-for-service Medicaid to such organizations. as introduced.

Read and Comment on Full Bill Text

Sponsor

• Sen. Jeff Bingaman [D, NM]
• and 4 Co-Sponsors

OpenCongress - U.S. Congress - S.547 Drug Rebate Equalization Act of 2009