“Fight to Rename ‘Medicare Advantage’ Gets New Push,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “The new parody ad features music, stock art and video cuts that make the video look like an ad that will end with a narrator telling viewers to call a toll-free 1-800 number for more information now. ‘Private health insurance companies get seniors to sign up for private plans rather than Medicare by calling themselves Medicare Advantage,’ Schakowsky says in the parody ad video. ‘We want to stop private plans from calling themselves Medicare… And don’t call 1-800 anything.’”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term
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“Most long-term care doesn’t qualify for insurance benefit,” by Robert Pokorski, InsuranceNewsNet  “How common is pre-HIPAA-level LTC? An earlier study by the Urban Institute suggested that the majority of LTC may be provided for people with lower levels of disability who do not meet the threshold for an LTC insurance benefit. Estimates are that one in four people (26%) who pay for LTCi and almost three in four (71%) who receive only unpaid LTC would not meet the threshold for benefits under a tax-qualified LTC insurance policy.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Statements
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“Feds to Cut Medicare Advantage Plan Pay Over Health Score Creep,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “The federal government expects to pay Medicare Advantage plan issuers $6.3 trillion from now through 2031. Officials believe they pay $15 billion too much per year because of problems with how plans measure the health of the enrollees. Federal clawbacks of what CMS believes to be excess payments could start at $13 million this year and rise to $479 million in 2025. The recoupment amount could be about $719 million in 2032.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: As
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“Two KFF Analyses Explore the Demographics of People Jointly Enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid As Well As Program Enrollment and Spending for This Population,” Kaiser Family Foundation The 12.5 million people who are jointly enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid include some of the poorest individuals in the U.S. with some of the highest health needs, requiring disproportionately high spending from both programs to support them. Two new KFF analyses examine the demographics of this population as well as the latest data on program enrollment and spending. These data can help inform federal and state policy discussions about ways to improve coordination and management
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“Human Freedom Index: 2022,” Cato Institute “The Human Freedom Index presents the state of human freedom in the world based on a broad measure that encompasses personal, civil, and economic freedom. Human freedom is a social concept that recognizes the dignity of individuals and is defined here as negative liberty or the absence of coercive constraint. Because freedom is inherently valuable and plays a role in human progress, it is worth measuring carefully. The Human Freedom Index is a resource that can help to more objectively observe relationships between freedom and other social and economic phenomena, as well as the ways in which the various dimensions of freedom
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“Look To The States, Not Congress, For Long-Term Care Financing Reform,” by Howard Gleckman, Blog “While there is no chance the federal government will enact long-term care financing reform any time soon, several states are busy developing public insurance programs of their own. These initiatives could be a critical step as the nation wrestles with how to pay for personal care for older adults and others with disabilities or chronic disease. … The next few years may see many important long-term care financing initiatives. But they’ll all come from the states, not the gridlocked federal government.”   LTC Comment, Stephen
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“10 Things to Know About the Unwinding of the Medicaid Continuous Enrollment Provision,” by Jennifer Tolbert and Meghana Ammula, Kaiser Family Foundation Quote: “At the start of the pandemic, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which included a requirement that Medicaid programs keep people continuously enrolled through the end of the month in which the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ends, in exchange for enhanced federal funding. Primarily due to the continuous enrollment provision, Medicaid enrollment has grown substantially compared to before the pandemic and the uninsured rate has dropped. But, when the continuous enrollment provision ends, millions of people could
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“Impact of Secure Act and Long-Term Care Insurance Provisions Discussed,” by Jesse Slome, PR.com Quote: “The SECURE Act 2.0 was signed into law on December 29, 2022. According to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance one provision contained within the new measure benefits those considering the purchase of LTC insurance. ‘Any legislative action designed to make long-term care insurance more attractive to consumers is welcome news,’ states Jesse Slome, AALTCI director. ‘However, the latest Act will likely result in nominal if any growth of policy sales.’”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Another baby step.    
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“Millions of Medicaid beneficiaries may lose coverage as disenrollments resume in April,”  healthinsurance.org Quote: “For the first time in nearly three years, states will resume Medicaid eligibility redeterminations and disenrollments, a move expected to result in up to 15 million people losing Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance (CHIP) coverage. Healthinsurance.org is providing key information about this policy change, including steps consumers can take to stay insured.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Millions losing Medicaid is big news in every state. But no one who is and has been eligible for the program will lose eligibility. Only people who are and have
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“Older adults’ housing wealth hits new record at $11.81 trillion,” by Kathleen Steele Galvin, McKnight’s Senior Living Quote: “Homeowners aged 62 or more years saw their collective housing wealth grow by 1.95%, or $226 billion, in the third quarter of 2022, according to the latest quarterly data from the Reverse Mortgage Market Index / RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index. At $11.81 trillion, the NRMLA/RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index has reached an all-time high since the index was first was published in 2000. Previously, the McKnight’s Business Daily reported that seniors increased their home equity by the first quarter of 2022 by 4.9%, to a record $11.12 trillion, from
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