OpenCongress - U.S. Congress - H.R.1670 Community Choice Act of 2009
AARP Report Details Hardships Of Chronically Ill And Their Caregivers, Urges Reform
A new AARP Public Policy Institute survey of chronically ill patients and their caregivers finds health care poses significant challenges for the 70 million Americans 50 and older who have at least one chronic condition. The survey is part of a larger report, "Chronic Care: A Call to Action for Health Reform," which details the state of chronic care and offers recommendations for improving care for the chronically ill as part of comprehensive health reform……
Thanks and a hat tip to Dan Berland < dberland@NASDDDS.ORG >
Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) has reintroduced legislation to
eliminate Medicare Part D co-payments for low-income residents of
assisted living and residential care facilities and others receiving
home and community-based services (HCBS) under Medicaid. The Medicare
Part D Home and Community Services Copayment Equity Act of 2009 (H.R.
1407) would extend the same protection from Part D co-pays afforded to
dual eligibles living in institutions to those residing in the
community. Ben Nelson (D-NE) has introduced a companion bill in the
Senate (S. 534).
Congress exempted dual eligibles living in long term care facilities
such as ICFs/MR and nursing homes from any cost-sharing for Part D
prescription drugs in the original Part D legislation. Passage of this
legislation would eliminate Part D co-payments for about 1 million dual
eligible beneficiaries, including residents of assisted living and
residential care as well as other licensed facilities such as group
homes for people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities,
psychiatric health facilities and mental health rehabilitation centers.
Dual eligibles receiving services under home and community-based waivers
in a home setting would also be relieved of Part D co-payments under the
bill.
FMI: To read the bill or track its progress, go to
http://thomas.loc.gov/
In the US Senate, Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wis) have reintroduced a bill mandating that all long-term care employee applicants who would work directly with patients undergo national criminal background checks. The bill is the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act of 2009. Senator Kohl is the chairman of the Special Committee on Aging.
The measure provides a federal component that would mandate that all long-term care employee applicants be screened against the FBI’s national database. This will hopefully decrease the number of nursing home abuse and neglect incidents, which unfortunately seems to be a regular occurrence in a number of US nursing homes and private residences where professional caregivers are sometimes brought in to care for a sick or frail person…..
Docuticker » Blog Archive » Multi-Generational Housing Patterns
While most respondents to this January 2009 survey of adults ages 18 and older said that moving in with a friend or family member was unlikely, among those who thought it was a possibility, one-third said that such a move would be due to a loss in income, while one-fifth said it would be due to a change in job status or a change in health status.
Notably, comfort in living with additional friends or family members was high, with more than four in ten respondents saying they would be comfortable with such an arrangement if it became necessary.
+ Full Report (PDF; 383 KB)
Editorial - Costly Home Health Care - NYTimes.com
Health care reformers have long advocated providing more care to patients in their own homes or communities instead of treating them in costly institutions like hospitals and nursing homes. So it is disturbing to learn that charges have risen well above reasonable levels in one segment of the home health care market — short-term care provided to Medicare beneficiaries after, or sometimes instead of, hospitalization. The problem is compounded by fraud…..
The Associated Press: AP IMPACT: Mentally ill a threat in nursing homes
CHICAGO (AP) — Ivory Jackson had Alzheimer's, but that wasn't what killed him. At 77, he was smashed in the face with a clock radio as he lay in his nursing home bed.
Jackson's roommate — a mentally ill man nearly 30 years younger — was arrested and charged with the killing. Police found him sitting next to the nurse's station, blood on his hands, clothes and shoes. Inside their room, the ceiling was spattered with blood.
"Why didn't they do what they needed to do to protect my dad?" wondered Jackson's stepson, Russell Smith….
Image via Wikipedia
Thanks and a hat tip to Steve Gold:
Two recent studies/reports document the many ways Medicaid's
Community-Based Long Term Care Services are cost-effective as compared to
expensive institutional nursing facilities:
1. "Do Non-Institutional Long-Term Care Services Reduce Medicaid
Spending?" written by H.S Kaye, M. LaPlante, and C. Harrington. It is in
the journal Health Affairs, vol 28, no 1 (Jan/Feb 2009).
http://content.healthaffairs.org/index.dtl
2. "Taking the Long View: Investing in Medicaid Home and
Community-Based Services Is Cost-Effective" written by R. Mollica, E.
Kasser, L. Walker, and A. Houser. It is in the publication entitled
INSIGHT on the Issues, vol I26 (March 2009), a publication of the AARP
Public Policy Institute. www.aarp.org/ppi
Do your legislatures really want to save Medicaid funds?
As your legislatures discuss/threaten reducing Medicaid expenditures and
as they do not discuss "rebalancing" institutional versus community-based
expenditures but want to keep people unnecessarily institutionalized,
these two reports from nationally recognized and extremely well-respected
organizations support your arguments.
Are your newspapers and editorial boards aware of the overwhelming data
that exists? Are legislators and their staff aware? Probably not. Meet
with them and share these reports with them.
Do you Congressional representatives and U.S. Senators, who still do not
support the Community Choice Act, know that the CCA will be cost
effective? Again, probably not.
Advocates - use the above two reports!
Steve Gold, The Disability Odyssey continues
Getting a chance at life outside a nursing home | Philadelphia Inquirer | 03/22/2009
By Stacey Burling
Inquirer Staff Writer
Charles Marriott, who is 73 and has emphysema, says he wound up in a nursing home after a drug problem got the better of the relative who was caring for him.
He hated the 15 months he spent there and gladly grabbed a chance to move into an apartment of his own.
So it doesn't bother him a bit that the place he's lived in since Jan. 14, New Courtland Square in Germantown, uses machines to monitor practically every move he makes - all in the interest of making sure he's safe….
Thanks and a hat Tip to Patti Elaine Kefalas Dudek
It's not just about the "nanny tax." When using a home health caregiver, it's crucial to know whether you are the caregiver's employer or someone else to avoid tax and legal snags.
With more baby boomers seeking help for aging parents, the in-home care industry is booming with a wide range of service providers, from geriatric-care managers to home-care agencies. Contractual arrangements and employment policies vary just as widely. So it's wise for consumers to ask questions up front about tax obligations and insurance coverage.
"Families need to be aware of all the ramifications," says Bernard A. Krooks, a certified elder-law attorney and founding partner of Littman Krooks LLP, a New York law firm.
