“Dr. Bill Thomas’ tiny house prototype now available for rent,” by Lois A. Bowers, McKnight’s Senior Living “The prototype of a tiny house introduced about a year ago by Dr. Bill Thomas is now available for rent through AirBnB for those who would like to try it out. Thomas envisions the prefabricated houses as accessory dwelling units or clustered into so-called pocket neighborhoods — for older adults and others who need affordable housing and desire to remain independent.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Another creative LTC idea from the inimitable Dr. Thomas. Dr.
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“Fitch Wants Insurers to Post More LTCI Performance Data,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Analysts at Fitch Ratings want life insurers to post more details about their long-term care insurance (LTCI) blocks. If life insurers post more, standardized LTCI performance information, and the increased supply of information makes the performance of each LTCI block easier to compare with the performance of other blocks, that would be ‘supportive of creditworthiness,’ Fitch says. Fitch made the plea for more LTCI performance information in a comment on its views of the LTCI sector.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care
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“Abusive Unlicensed Care Homes Are ‘Hidden In Plain Sight’ In America, Researcher Says,” by Robin Seaton Jefferson, Forbes “After completing a year-long study on unlicensed care homes in the United States, researchers are recommending among other things further investigation, more oversight and new ways to locate homes where they say ‘egregious crimes’ are being committed against the elderly, disabled and mentally ill. The independent, non-profit research firm, RTI International, completed the exploratory study and report for the Office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the U.S. Department
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“The hidden male caregiver,” by Christina Ianzito, San Diego Union-Tribune “When we think of family caregivers, we tend to think of women. And in fact the typical caregiver is a middle-aged woman caring for a relative, often her mother. But the face of American caregiving is changing rapidly, according to “Breaking Stereotypes: Spotlight on Male Family Caregivers,” a recent report from AARP. Eight years ago, just 34 percent of caregivers surveyed were men. Today, 40 percent of the 40 million Americans caring for a loved one are male.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):
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“Why does one of the most needed jobs pay so poorly?,” by Paul Solman, PBS “With about 10,000 baby boomers retiring every single day, home care is one of the fastest growing, most needed occupations in America. But there’s a problem: The current median pay is just $10.49 per hour. Economics correspondent Paul Solman reports on why these vital workers get paid so little. … Paul Solman: But with growing demand, not enough workers, basic economics says wages simply have to go up. The catch, home care is dominated by one payer. Yes, some is paid for privately through long-term
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“Long-term nursing care turnover linked to low Medicaid payments,” by Rick Kelly, Valley Morning Star “A study by the Texas Health Care Association, a nonprofit trade group representing nursing homes, says the annual turnover rate for certified nursing assistants is 97 percent. The churn rate for registered nurses and licensed vocational nurses is almost as high, coming in at 90 percent, according to a THCA study released this year. … Warren said the low Texas Medicaid reimbursement means a long-term care facility is only paid about $6 per hour per patient for care, which hampers a nursing home company’s ability
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“Medicaid Managed Care: Improvements Needed to Better Oversee Payment Risks,” Government Accountability Office “Almost half—$171 billion—of Medicaid spending in 2017 went to managed care organizations (MCO). In Medicaid managed care, states pay a set periodic amount to MCOs for each enrollee, and MCOs pay health care providers for the services delivered to enrollees. Used effectively, managed care can help states reduce Medicaid costs. However, managed care still is at risk of making incorrect payments, such as duplicate payments or payments for ineligible patients. We identified 6 types of payment risks: 4 related to state payments to MCOs, and 2 related
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“What the World’s Biggest Asset Manager Recommends to Boost Retirement Savings,” by Bernice Napach, ThinkAdvisor “BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, wants the federal government to make it easier for employees to participate in defined contribution retirement plans and for employers to offer those plans. In both cases many don’t. According to the latest available stats from the Labor Department (from March 2017), 59% of U.S. employees have access to DC plans but only 40% participate in those plans. … BlackRock offers multiple recommendations to help increase the availability of DC funds and participation by employees — ‘bipartisan ideas that
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