“Opinion: Numbers that older workers and retirees need to know in 2020,” by Paul Brandus, MarketWatch   Quote: “A new year and a new decade begin next week. Whether you’re retired or still working, many changes are coming that could affect you—for better and/or worse. Here’s our breakdown of what you need to know in 2020:”   LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): This article has key numbers for Medicare and Social Security to add to those we reported recently on Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income. By the way, the link we gave for “2020
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“2020 SSI and Spousal Impoverishment Standards,” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services   Quote: “Maximum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance: $3,216.00 … Community Spouse Resources [Allowance]: Minimum Resource Standard: $25,728.00 … Maximum Resource Standard $128,640.00 … Home Equity Limits: Minimum: $595,000.00 …  Maximum: $893,000.00.”   LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): CMS finally published the 2020 key Medicaid numbers for determining long-term care financial eligibility. We these numbers to our historical record in The Zone soon. There you can see how they have increased with inflation every year since 1991. Some background: The Medicare Catastrophic
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“Medicaid financing scheme endangers federal-state partnership,” by Red Jahncke, The Hill   Quote: “The Medicaid program was established as a federal-state partnership, but it has become a partnership in name only as the result of a complicated maneuver in which states impose taxes on health care providers to extract tens of billions of dollars yearly from the U.S. Treasury via an arcane Medicaid financing maneuver. The scheme renders Medicaid almost entirely a federally financed — or over-financed — program. Almost every state employs this tax maneuver to trigger the annual release of matching funds over and above the money the
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“Genworth and Oceanwide Extend Merger Agreement,” Cision PRNewswire   Quote: “Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) and China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co. Ltd (Oceanwide) today announced they have agreed to a 13th waiver and agreement of each party’s right to terminate the previously announced merger agreement. The 13th waiver and agreement extends the previous deadline of December 31, 2019 to no later than March 31, 2020.”   LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Wishing Genworth Happy Holidays and a quick close.
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“MedPAC Commissioner: Underfunding Turns Medicaid-Heavy SNFs into ‘7th Circle of Hell’,” by Maggie Flynn, Skilled Nursing News   Quote: “The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) once again advised that Medicare’s payments for skilled nursing facilities are too high — but also acknowledged the challenges for providers caused by low Medicaid reimbursement. A presentation by Dr. Carol Carter delivered to MedPAC on December 5 examined Medicare margins for SNFs amid the larger contexts of beneficiary access to care, quality-of-care indicators, access to capital markets, and changes in Medicare costs and payments. While Medicare margins for SNFs remain high, with an aggregate margin of
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“Out-of-Pocket Costs for Medicare Recipients Will Rise in New Year,” by Dennis Thompson, U.S. News & World Report   Quote: “Seniors on Medicare are going to take a hit to the pocketbook in 2020, with premiums and deductibles set to increase on coverage for medical services and prescription drugs. The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B will rise $9.10, to $144 a month, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced. The annual deductible for Part B also will increase $13 to $198 per year, CMS said. Both increases are relatively large compared to 2019, when the
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“The Hidden Drug Epidemic Among Older People,” by Jane E. Brody, New York Times   Quote: “While news reports focus on an epidemic of opioid abuse among young adults, another totally legal and usually hidden drug epidemic is occurring at the other end of the age spectrum: the fistfuls of remedies — both prescription and over-the-counter — taken by older adults. According to the American Association of Consultant Pharmacists, people aged 65 to 69 take an average of 15 prescriptions a year, and those aged 80 to 84 take 18 prescriptions a year. And that’s in addition to the myriad
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“An ‘Epidemic of Loneliness’ in America? Maybe Not,” by Amy Norton, US News & World Report   Quote: “Despite media stories about a ‘loneliness epidemic’ plaguing the elderly, two new studies find that they feel no more lonely than their peers from past generations. The studies — one in the United States, one in the Netherlands — reached the same basic conclusion: Yes, people tend to feel more lonely after age 75 or so. But today’s older adults are no more likely to feel isolated or lacking in companionship than previous generations.”   LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President,
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“Canada Throws China Oceanwide-Genworth Deal a Lifeline,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor   Quote: “Canadian regulators have made a decision that could increase the odds that Genworth Financial Inc. will be able to sell itself to China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co. Ltd. — or that Genworth will have the cash to survive on its own if the China Oceanwide deal falls through.”   LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Frustratingly slow, but progress nonetheless.
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“Move from fee-for-service to managed care ‘a disaster’ for long-term care, Parkinson says,” by Liza Berger, McKnight’s LTC News   Quote: “Changing payment models have made the last decade ‘an incredibly bad time’ for long-term care in many ways, the leader of the nation’s largest nursing home group said Monday. Mark Parkinson, the president and CEO of the American Health Care Association, made the damning assessment during opening remarks at AHCA’s inaugural population health summit. Over the last 10 years, the change has been ‘seismic,’ he noted, pointing out that in 2010, over 70% of post-acute volume was fee-for-service and
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