“How States Can Support Individuals In The Long-Term Services and Supports Gap”

 

“How States Can Support Individuals In The Long-Term Services and Supports Gap,” by Laura Benzing, Hannah Godlove and Megan R. Burke, Health Affairs

“But what about the large population of middle-income Medicare beneficiaries nationwide who do not qualify for Medicaid and cannot afford to hire a home health aide? These individuals fall into an ‘LTSS gap’ where care is difficult, if not impossible, to access. … Near Medicaid-eligible individuals who fall into the LTSS gap experience higher rates of disability and less access to potential family caregiver support compared to Medicare beneficiaries with higher incomes. … State policy makers can consider opportunities to address the LTSS gap under existing authorities including expanding Medicaid eligibility and State Plan Amendments, Section 1115 Demonstrations, Older Americans Act funding, and other state-driven initiatives.”

LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform:

Health Affairs published my comment on this article. It begins: “Respectfully, there is no ‘LTSS Gap’.” It continues to explain how high-income and high-asset people routinely qualify for Medicaid LTC benefits, crowding out needier people from better care. Click through to read the article and my comment. Next Friday’s LTC Bullet will include a more detailed critique of the article and why its recommendation—ever more government spending on LTC—is exactly the wrong prescription for what ails LTC.