Will Medicare ever pay for nursing home care?
Consumers of health care in old age likely consider nursing home care to be part of the continuum of health care that a patient may require. Yet health insurance plans do not pay for nursing home care because it isn’t defined as “treatment.” Instead, it is classified as long-term care rather than “health care,” because the care is maintaining the individual and...
Disability Integration Act of 2015 is a pending bill with great promise
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduced a bill in Congress that’s designed to ensure that Medicaid-eligible people who are aged or have disabilities can receive their necessary services out in the community through the Medicaid Home and Community Based Services program (HCBS). Aging in Place is what it’s all about. The bill is S-2427 and here it is. The bill has been referred to the...
Baby Boomers looking ahead: long term care insurance or Medicaid?
There’s no doubt about it, long-term care insurance is expensive, and the premiums can be steep if you wait until after age 70 to first buy a policy. Some companies have gotten approvals for big premium increases on old policies. The marketplace has shrunk as companies have left the business, and some companies create bureaucratic barriers to paying claims. However, there’s also no...