“ACA Diluted Funds for the Severely Disabled,” by Paul T. Spencer, Wall Street Journal letter to the editor “The ACA has expanded funding for Medicaid services, but it has also to an even greater degree expanded the pool of people eligible to dip their spoon in the pot. It used to be that Medicaid did a fair job of providing for the truly disabled and needy. Now it does a lousy job of serving more people, many of whom are not truly needy and could provide care for themselves. . . . Please join me in supporting the repeal of
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“Brain scan study adds to evidence that lower brain serotonin levels are linked to dementia,” ScienceDaily “In a study looking at brain scans of people with mild loss of thought and memory ability, Johns Hopkins researchers report evidence of lower levels of the serotonin transporter — a natural brain chemical that regulates mood, sleep and appetite. Previous studies from Johns Hopkins and other centers have shown that people with Alzheimer’s disease and severe cognitive decline have severe loss of serotonin neurons, but the studies did not show whether those reductions were a cause or effect of the disease. Results of
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“3 Insurance-Based Medicaid Planning Strategies,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “A longtime advocate of private long-term care insurance contends that many consumers use insurance-based strategies to game the Medicaid nursing home benefits eligibility system. Stephen Moses, president of the Seattle-based Center for Long-Term Care Reform, includes descriptions of insurance-based strategies consumers can use to meet Medicaid asset limits in a new report on ideas for fixing the U.S. long-term care finance system.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Allison Bell’s review of our new report “How to Fix Long-Term Care Financing” may leave readers somewhat unclear about its
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“Nearly 1 In 5 Hospice Patients Discharged While Still Alive,” by Ina Jaffe, National Public Radio “Hospice care is for the dying. It helps patients manage pain so they can focus on spending their remaining time with loved ones. But in recent years, nearly 1 in 5 patients has been discharged from hospice before he or she dies, according to government reports. A study published last month in the journal Health Affairs finds that hospices with the highest rate of so-called live discharges also have the highest profits. . . . ‘We see more and more patients that have conditions
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“Hospital patients don’t get good data on nursing homes,” by Andrew M. Seaman, Reuters   “Patients in U.S. hospitals who need to be transferred to a nursing home are often left to choose a facility without the benefit of important information, suggests a new study. In many cases, patients only receive lists of nearby facilities, without comprehensive and publicly available information about their quality, researchers found. . . . Hospitals cited legal restrictions and an emphasis on patient choice as the reasons why they could not supply patients with additional data about nursing facilities.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses,
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