Recently a new program for Medicare has been offered….a program that my late father could have benefited from if it had already been policy…….
Medicare is experimenting with a new direction in health care. Starting next year, seniors in many states will be able to get additional services, such as help with chores and respite for caregivers, through private Medicare Advantage insurance plans, the AP reports. There’s a growing recognition that such practical help can have a meaningful impact on patients’ well-being—and reduce some costs for taxpayers. A couple of hundred dollars to install grab bars in the shower can prevent a fall leading to a broken hip, a life-changing injury. That may also help elderly people stay in their homes longer. The newly covered services are similar to what people might need if they required long-term care, said Howard Gleckman, a senior researcher at the nonpartisan Urban Institute think tank.
Change is starting slowly. Policymakers have yet to figure out how to bring similar benefits to traditional Medicare, still the choice of 2 out of 3 seniors. The new services will be offered by some Medicare Advantage plans in more than 20 states next year, and that’s expected to grow over time. There has to be a health-related reason to qualify, and costs will vary among plans. In some plans, there’s no added cost. But limits do apply. For example, a plan may cover one day per week at an adult day care center. For years, Medicare has permitted private plans to offer supplemental benefits not covered by the traditional program. Think free gym memberships, transportation to medical appointments or home-delivered meals following a hospitalization. The new benefits take that to a higher level.
(Read more Medicare stories.)
This program could have been a big help for my father was just months away from bankruptcy because of medical problems…..this is a program that needs to expand to all 50 states….
Plus I am an old fart and will most likely need some sort of program soon….
In Saner Thought 
I know the feeling. I have arthritis in my back that is bothersome in the mornings until I move around a little and drink some coffee. Early coffee makes the day look a lot better.
My writings and research keeps my mind off the pain…..coffee really does help…LOL chuq
Medicare fall all will kill these enhancements for seniors and probably reduce present coverages.
I think not but that would require that all Americans pay into the system….not like today when people opt out and run to VA for freebies and then bitch about all those “freeloaders”…..Social security could be good for decades with one simple change the same for Medicare…chuq
What about the millions who cannot afford any payment into the system and since states decide how to allot medicare seems California and 700 sanctuary cities will include illegals as well.
That would depend on the state for the most part…..but if they have an income they already pay…..I keep hearing this and after all the time I had to spend in ERs I NEVER once saw or heard a Hispanic using the services…and before you ask there is a huge community on the Coast….and I have yet to see one use an EBT card…..but people worry about something that has little bearing on the policy……chuq
Inability to make any real headway on healthcare hurt republicans. Now I lament that gridlock will prevail in effort to block any Trump success with bipartisanship. Dems blocked Hoover’s modest attempts at recovery to guarantee winning white house 1933.
Main reason the founding fathers tried to set up a system to avoid political parties.
Yes and Repubs blocked Obama’s try and that is the latest…so normalcy will return….chuq
If I had to live under your medical care system, I think I would be very worried about the future too.
Best wishes, Pete.
I am not worried so much as afraid that the idiots in Congress will play games with my health care….they have in the past and they shall in the future….chuq