“81 percent of nursing homes receive less than cost of care for Medicaid patients: analysis,” by Kimberly Marselas, McKnight’s LTC News Quote: “Measures of base payments relative to costs varied widely, ranging from less than 70% of costs for 15% of facilities to more than 100% of costs for 19% of facilities. The median Medicaid base payment rate in 2019 was 86% of costs.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: When you’re losing money on every patient, you can’t make up for it in volume!     Subscribe to GoldenCare News  
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“CMS releases new Medicaid guidance for states to tackle unmet social needs,” by Susan Morse, HealthCareFinance Quote: “The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released new guidance for states to address health-related social needs for Medicaid beneficiaries. This is being done through the use of ‘in lieu of services and settings’ in Medicaid managed care. The option will help states offer alternative benefits to meet needs from housing instability and food insecurity. States may adopt in ‘lieu of services and settings’ to offer medically appropriate, cost-effective tailored meals for people with severe, chronic health conditions that are made worse
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“California to Reality-Check $144K Public Long-Term Care Benefits Package,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor Quote: “California policymakers have paid a consulting firm to tell it how much setting up an attractive public long-term care benefits program might cost. The California Long Term Care Insurance Task Force has developed a list of five possible LTC benefits programs, and it has hired Oliver Wyman to study each proposal’s finances. The state would use a payroll tax to pay for a new LTC benefits program. The task force expects Oliver Wyman to report back by Jan. 1, 2024. California lawmakers would then decide whether to implement an LTC
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“2023: The Year Medicare Advantage Begins To Dominate Traditional Medicare,” by Bruce Japsen, Forbes Quote: “With almost one in two seniors now enrolled in the privatized health plan alternative to traditional Medicare known as ‘Medicare Advantage,’ look for growth to escalate in 2023 and beyond. Though there have been probes into aggressive marketing practices and other allegations against Medicare Advantage plans, the privatized program has survived myriad examinations by lawmakers and prosecutors and is now one of the more bipartisan policy initiatives in Washington with more than 28 million seniors enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan in 2022, which accounted for 48% of Americans
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