“Coronavirus or no, why do we have so many people in nursing homes?,” by Rebekah Diller and Leslie Salzman, New York Daily News   Quote: “Despite a growing acknowledgment that home and community-based services are preferable to institutional care, public policies and funding have not been sufficient to realize that goal. As a result, the U.S. has more than 1.3 million adults living in nursing homes, with many more living in long-term institutional settings for persons with psychiatric, intellectual and developmental disabilities. They all face unprecedented risks right now.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): We’ll publish
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“FAQs About Coronavirus and Long-Term Care Insurance,” by Kimberly Lankford, US News & World Report   Quote: “The situation highlights the importance of having a plan to pay for potential long-term care expenses, which can give you more options if you end up needing care yourself. But it’s also made it more difficult to qualify for long-term care insurance, especially as you get older or have had a positive COVID-19 test. And if your aging parents already have a long-term care policy and are receiving care now, you may be wondering if any changes to their care from the pandemic will
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  “Reopening Guidance by CMS Wins Praise for Aggressive Stance on Staff, Resident Testing,” by Patrick Connole, Provider Quote: “​Amid the state-by-state reopening of the United States while the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Monday issued new guidance for state and local officials to ensure the safe reopening of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), which quickly won the support of the long term and post-acute care profession for its focus on extreme caution and the call for aggressive testing for staff and residents alike.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for
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  “Home Health Industry ‘Getting Closer’ to Reimbursement for Telehealth Visits,” by Robert Holly, Home Health News Quote: “Despite significant roadblocks, the home health industry is getting closer to securing direct reimbursement for visits delivered via telehealth technology, industry insiders believe. … Currently, there isn’t a way for home health providers to bill for in-home telehealth visits — or count remote visits toward low-utilization payment adjustment (LUPA) thresholds. … As a result of the coronavirus, the demand for telehealth technology is projected to increase seven-fold by 2025, according to research from business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan research.” LTC Comment (from Stephen
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  “COVID-19-caused kidney injuries heighten demand for dialysis,” by Alicia Lasek, McKnight’s LTC News Quote: “A large number of coronavirus patients are suffering kidney damage, contributing to a growing need for onsite dialysis in eldercare facilities, according to experts.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Another story said Study Suggests Delirium, Agitation May Follow COVID-19 Infection. Complications are piling up with regard to Covid-19 treatment in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. New York first required nursing homes to take virus patients, then prohibited them when so many sickened and died. As normality returns in
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  “Governors eye Medicaid cuts to ease COVID-19 budget pain,” by Jessie Hellman, The Hill Quote: “Governors facing huge budget shortfalls are eyeing cuts to Medicaid, even as millions of unemployed Americans flock to the health insurance program after losing their employer-based coverage. States that are buckling under declining revenues and increased Medicaid enrollment due to COVID-19 say they may have no choice but to cut the program for the poor unless they get more financial support from the federal government.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Don’t cut the “program for the poor.”
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  “States face looming crisis over Medicaid growth, which could trigger changes for providers and payers,” by Robert King, Fierce Healthcare Quote: “States are about to face a major budget crisis due to exponential growth in Medicaid enrollment and a decline in tax revenue, which experts say could lead to provider payment cuts or other measures to contain costs.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Very true, but the remainder of this article focuses on Medicaid’s acute care side. That’s not where the biggest financial shortfall will come. Long-term care users, who are 5.9
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  “Masks change everything,” by Gary Tetz, McKnight’s LTC News Quote: “What will COVID-19 do to Social Security’s finances? “Now that small respiratory droplets created by human speech have been found to hang out in the air for more than eight minutes, requiring masks in long-term care and any other setting where people congregate seems like a no-brainer. In fact, at the time of my inevitable demise, please slip one onto my face and leave it there. I don’t want to take any chances of spreading COVID-19 to the afterlife.”   LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care
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“Seniors turn to reverse mortgages as a cash lifeline during the coronavirus crisis,” by Ilana Polyak, CNBC   Quote: “What will COVID-19 do to Social Security’s finances? “More seniors turn to reverse mortgages as a cash lifeline during the coronavirus pandemic. A reverse mortgage can be used in correlation with other retirement income strategies to lessen what’s known as ‘sequence of return risk.’ Applications for reverse mortgages were up 15% in March, according to Reverse Mortgage Insight.”   LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): I’ve long predicted that reverse mortgages would fill the LTC
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