States Increasingly Looking to Managed Care for Long-Term Care Services
More state Medicaid agencies are shifting to managed care models to provide long-term care services, sparking a backlash...
Read moreIn coming weeks, the Senate will finalize legislation to reform America's health care system. While more than 48 million Americans do not have medical insurance, more than 250 million Americans lack any insurance protection for the costs of long-term care services.
Advocacy groups representing those with special needs and the elderly are pressing for the inclusion of long-term care services and supports in any legislation.
The groups, which include the Disability Policy Collaborative and the Autism Society of America, sponsored a "National Call-In Day" on May 13, 2009, to demonstrate to the Senate that including long-term care supports and services has broad support. The Senate Finance and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committees are scheduled to finalize their legislative proposals for health care reform within the next two to three weeks (mid-May to early June, 2009). The bills are expected to be merged on the Senate floor in June 2009. Three House committees are also developing their own legislation, but are not as far along as the Senate.
The groups are calling for an end to Medicaid's institutional bias, which denies America's frail elderly and individuals with special needs an equal choice for home and community services over institutionalization. They point out that hundreds of thousands of individuals are on waiting lists for Medicaid home and community-based services.
The groups are urging passage of two pieces of legislation in particular:
More national phone-in days may be planned. In the meantime, the groups are urging concerned citizens to contact their senators to show public backing for making long-term care a part of health care reform.
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