“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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