Increasingly, Americans Believe Government Should Pay for Aging Care, Study Finds
McKnight’s Home Care | By Adam Healy
As families and unpaid caregivers endure high out-of-pocket costs for care, a growing share of adults have called for greater government assistance for aging in place.
In 2012, about 37% of American adults believed the government should pay for elder care services. But by 2022, the share of people who believed the government should help pay these costs had grown to 51%, according to a new study published by the American Sociological Association.
The share of people who think families should foot the bill for aging care is also shrinking. In 2012, 48% of people agreed that older adults and their families should be responsible for the costs of aging in place. By 2022, the share had shrunk to 28%.
The average out-of-pocket costs of providing loved ones with unpaid care is more than $7,000 annually. And for those who are employed, caregiving can have a significant toll on work responsibilities and performance, and many are forced to forego career advancement opportunities or even delay their retirement to support aging loved ones.
A growing proportion of people also believe that the government should be primarily responsible for providing aging care services. About a quarter of respondents indicated that the government itself should help older adults with services such as housekeeping duties, grocery shopping and assistance with other activities of daily living.
However, results differed by age. Of a sample of almost 2,400 people, older adults were more likely to expect aging support from their family members. Younger adults, who are often responsible for providing unpaid care for older family members, were more likely to believe the government should offer financial assistance for aging care than older adults.
“These results could be due to increasing pressure from an aging population or potentially a reaction to a real-world event (i.e., the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic) that unevenly affected older adults and affected families’ ability to provide care,” the researchers wrote in the study published Jan. 17. “This change in attitudes may reflect changing norms about the social programs the government should provide to older adults and changes in family expectations for care.”
On Jan. 30, congressional representatives introduced the Credit for Caring Act, which would help offset caregivers’ out-of-pocket expenses by providing a tax credit up to $5,000 for personal care, respite care, transportation assistance and other kinds of home care. |
Health Insurers Balk at Proposed Medicare Advantage Rates
Axios | By Tina Reed
CVS Health and Centene executives say newly proposed Medicare Advantage rates for 2025aren't "sufficient" and hinted they could cut benefits if the federal government finalizes the rates as is.
Why it matters: More than half of Medicare enrollees are in private Medicare Advantage plans. The specter of potential cuts to seniors' health care benefits in an election year could put pressure on the Biden administration.
Catch up quick: Medicare last week proposed cutting base payments to MA plans by 0.16% next year.
- Medicare officials said the plans would still receive $16 billion more next year once payments are risk-adjusted to account for the health of their customers.
- The officials said they expect beneficiary benefits and premiums to stay stable based on the proposed rates.
Yes, but: CVS Health, which owns Aetna, and other insurers like Centene and Humana said they're expecting a deeper net cut, especially as they face rising medical costs.
- "The funding level was broadly consistent with our expectation, which we do not believe is sufficient to cover current medical cost trends," CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch said during an earnings call Wednesday.
- The company cut its earnings outlook for 2024 based on the increased use of medical services experienced across the industry.
- Lynch also raised concern that changes coming to Medicare Part D under the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes caps on seniors' drug expenses, will require "additional funding to cover the comprehensive member benefits provided and the increased risk that plans are assuming."
Between the lines: CVS and Centene executives this week said they would "adjust" their plans to account for the proposed rates.
- "The products may be a little bit less attractive for seniors from an industry standpoint if we don't make a lot of progress on the final rates," said Centene CFO Drew Asher on the company's Tuesday earnings call.
What we're watching: Final MA rates for 2025 are expected to be released by early April.
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services officials have said Medicare will incorporate updated information about health care use into the final rate, which could mean a bump to the base payment rate.
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‘A Monumental Shift’: Home Health Providers Believe Review Choice Demonstration Is Here To Stay
Home Health Care News | By Patrick Filbin
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has been tight-lipped about its Review Choice Demonstration (RCD) plans beyond May 2024.
However, industry leaders believe RCD will be extended across the country on a more permanent basis — a development that agency leaders should recognize as a momentum shifting change.
“We’re seeing a monumental shift in home health care and how we actually operate,” Kim Gaffey, founder and CEO of Gaffey Home Nursing and Hospice, said during a webinar Thursday. “When we started RCD five years ago, we really had three silos inside our business: clinical, billing and administrative. Oftentimes those three silos worked somewhat independently. As we entered into this RCD world, we had to bring all three silos together and examine how they interacted with each other.”
The Illinois-based Gaffey Home Nursing and Hospice offers home health, home nursing and hospice services.
Generally, RCD requires home health care providers to submit claims documentation earlier on in the care process and is meant to target and combat fraud in the industry. CMS’ goal in RCD is to reduce improper billing under Medicare’s home health benefit.
In 2017, lawmakers successfully blocked the expansion of the Pre-Claim Review Demonstration (PCRD) — the precursor to RCD. The original iteration got off to a rocky start in Illinois, with providers and associations complaining of administrative burden, compliance costs and high non-affirmation rates.
A few years later, RCD was introduced in five states: Illinois, Ohio, Texas, North Carolina and Florida. CMS suspended the demonstration in late March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis, but soon after announced that it would resume in August, much to the chagrin of providers in those states.
A year later, CMS made a major change to the way billing was processed, which was a reprieve for providers. Today, those providers are reflecting on how those changes have affected the way they do business.
“One of the first things that you realize once you’re in the RCD system is how many times each one of those silos touch the document or communicate with the provider,” Gaffey said. “From the first day of patient interaction to the final day of billing, we’re seeing that we are now a team instead of three independent departments. Without implementing and examining that process, you’ll fail at RCD.”
Because a premium is put on accuracy and communication in the documentation process of RCD, there are a lot of positives that come with the time consuming aspects of the program…
Read Full Article |
Philips Is Now Discontinuing Certain Devices, Including Its CPAP Machine, After Painful Year of Recalls
Sleepopolis | By Alexandra Frost
On the heels of ongoing legal troubles with product recalls, Philips Respironics recently announced on the company’s website that it is updating its portfolio, and it will no longer manufacture certain home and hospital ventilation systems, certain oxygen concentrators, and sleep diagnostic devices (1). This includes the DreamStation Portable PAP Therapy System (CPAP), among others.
This announcement affects the U.S. and U.S. Territory customers, and comes amidst a Congressional inquiry into the possibility that the company withheld complaints from the FDA about their CPAP, BiPap, and ventilators (2, 3). The inquiry also claims that Philips Respironics failed to notify patients and providers about the dangerous nature of their product for over 11 years.
The company states on its website that, “Philips Respironics will focus on the sale of consumables and accessories, including masks, and will not return to the sale of hospital ventilation products, certain home ventilation products, portable and stationary oxygen concentrators and sleep diagnostic products.” The company also goes on to say that this discontinuation will not impact their “commitment to the remediation of devices impacted by the June 2021 recall of certain CPAP, BiPAP and mechanical ventilator devices.”
[Click here] to read which products are impacted by this discontinuation |
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