From Rhode Island to Taipei: Calls for Change in Long-term Care
Posted by Dorothy at 10/3/2009 11:27 AM 
Categories: Perspective,Policy
Tags: Long term care insurance Recession retirement Long-term care LTC Medicaid Medicare Medicade Long-term care insurance
Categories: Perspective,Policy
Tags: Long term care insurance Recession retirement Long-term care LTC Medicaid Medicare Medicade Long-term care insurance
In general, people are reluctant to change. It’s been said that most people only make the decision to change when the pain of the status quo becomes worse than the pain associated with change.
The same can be said about governments and long-term care reform. For years, U.S. public policy has largely ignored the impending fiscal train wreck of an aging population that shows little appetite to privately fund its future long-term care needs. Instead, the government’s Medicaid program is the de facto long-term care funding mechanism for Americans who have either a small bank balance or a willingness to hide money to qualify.
If there’s one good thing that can be said about the current recession, it’s that it may lead us to rational Medicaid reform. At the very least, economic uncertainty is sharpening the debate about what services the taxpayers should be paying for, what those services will look like and who qualifies for government-provided services.
Before the recession caused tax receipts to fall precipitously, politicians could avoid and delay the topic of Medicaid reform. Now, with many states on the verge of bankruptcy, and Medicaid one of their largest line items, that’s no longer the case. Since Medicaid is funded by both states and the federal government, it’s getting attention at both levels of government.
One of the best examples of Medicaid reform is happening right now in the smallest state in the union: Rhode Island. The state was granted the first ever “global waiver” by the federal government in regards to its Medicaid program. What this means is that Rhode Island is allowed to revamp/reinvent the way that it delivers Medicaid benefits without having to ask permission of the Center Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Stakeholders and politicians in “Little Rhodie” are just now figuring out what the future of Medicaid will be in the state. Like New Hampshire is to presidential elections, what happens in Rhode Island may have influence clear across the country as governments grapple with long-term care funding.
Lest you think the United States is alone in facing the financial burden of an aging population, the Taipei Times ran a letter in its July 20, 2009 edition titled “Programs that matter, not empty promises.” The paper described how Taiwan’s Cabinet Task Force on long-term care insurance recently held its first meeting to report preliminary results. Two suggestions were made: a national insurance plan and compulsory insurance for those older than 40.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate’s version of Health Care Reform includes the Class Act: a federal long-term care insurance plan designed to pay an average benefit of $50/day to people that have paid in premiums for at least five years.
Often overshadowed by the economy, health care reform and Iraq, long-term care financing may not be front page news. However, it’s showing up frequently in legislative briefings, agendas and bills. The economy may finally force the kind of reform that will make long-term care insurance as mainstream as Medicare supplements.
Dorothy McMahon, president of McMahon and Associates in Bloomfield Hills, is a specialist offering “Straight Talk about Long-Term Care Insurance.” She has brought her program to professional associations, family support groups, meetings, and conferences. Contact her at (248) 844-9787 or LTCINSUSA@AOL.COM and visit www.mcmahonltcins.com.
The same can be said about governments and long-term care reform. For years, U.S. public policy has largely ignored the impending fiscal train wreck of an aging population that shows little appetite to privately fund its future long-term care needs. Instead, the government’s Medicaid program is the de facto long-term care funding mechanism for Americans who have either a small bank balance or a willingness to hide money to qualify.
If there’s one good thing that can be said about the current recession, it’s that it may lead us to rational Medicaid reform. At the very least, economic uncertainty is sharpening the debate about what services the taxpayers should be paying for, what those services will look like and who qualifies for government-provided services.
Before the recession caused tax receipts to fall precipitously, politicians could avoid and delay the topic of Medicaid reform. Now, with many states on the verge of bankruptcy, and Medicaid one of their largest line items, that’s no longer the case. Since Medicaid is funded by both states and the federal government, it’s getting attention at both levels of government.
One of the best examples of Medicaid reform is happening right now in the smallest state in the union: Rhode Island. The state was granted the first ever “global waiver” by the federal government in regards to its Medicaid program. What this means is that Rhode Island is allowed to revamp/reinvent the way that it delivers Medicaid benefits without having to ask permission of the Center Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Stakeholders and politicians in “Little Rhodie” are just now figuring out what the future of Medicaid will be in the state. Like New Hampshire is to presidential elections, what happens in Rhode Island may have influence clear across the country as governments grapple with long-term care funding.
Lest you think the United States is alone in facing the financial burden of an aging population, the Taipei Times ran a letter in its July 20, 2009 edition titled “Programs that matter, not empty promises.” The paper described how Taiwan’s Cabinet Task Force on long-term care insurance recently held its first meeting to report preliminary results. Two suggestions were made: a national insurance plan and compulsory insurance for those older than 40.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate’s version of Health Care Reform includes the Class Act: a federal long-term care insurance plan designed to pay an average benefit of $50/day to people that have paid in premiums for at least five years.
Often overshadowed by the economy, health care reform and Iraq, long-term care financing may not be front page news. However, it’s showing up frequently in legislative briefings, agendas and bills. The economy may finally force the kind of reform that will make long-term care insurance as mainstream as Medicare supplements.
Dorothy McMahon, president of McMahon and Associates in Bloomfield Hills, is a specialist offering “Straight Talk about Long-Term Care Insurance.” She has brought her program to professional associations, family support groups, meetings, and conferences. Contact her at (248) 844-9787 or LTCINSUSA@AOL.COM and visit www.mcmahonltcins.com.
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