MACPAC: Medicaid spending for long-term care 'disproportionate'

http://goo.gl/lBZ6Ot

Medicaid is the largest payer of high-cost services like long-term care, MACPAC noted in its June 2016 Report to Congress. The program finances one-third of the country's nursing facilities; and spent $169 billion on long-term supports and services in fiscal year 2012.

That amount added up to roughly 43% of Medicaid's total expenditures for FY 2012, despite just 6.2% of Medicaid beneficiaries needing LTSS, the report found. Those “disproportionate” statistics highlight the importance of functional assessment tools — questions that gather data on beneficiaries' conditions and needs — in determining Medicaid eligibility.