The Senior Health Insurance Safety Net: Medicaid
Senior Health > The Senior Health Insurance Safety Net: Medicaid
As the largest source of federal assistance to states, Medicaid is the safety net under long-term care coverage for seniors. This is according to Barbara Lyons, Ph.D., who defines Medicaid’s role for seniors (and their senior health insurance needs) in a statement prepared for the senate.
As a supplement to Medicare’s senior health insurance support, Medicaid benefits low-income seniors in a number of ways:
*Medicare beneficiaries with Medicaid supplements have a regular source of care.
*Medicare beneficiaries with Medicaid supplements get care in a timely manner.
*Medicare beneficiaries with Medicaid supplements have lower out-of-pocket costs.
*Those receiving supplemental support from Medicaid are usually protected from the high-costs of prescription drugs.
*Medicaid is the only public federal program that covers ongoing care for nursing homes, paying for almost half of the costs.
*Medicaid uses a proactive approach to nursing home care quality, by attaching conditions for standards to financial support.
*1.5 million seniors receive assistance for long-term care in the community.
But as powerful and beneficent as it is, Medicaid could use its own safety net. Or at the very least, some reinforcing of the netting. According to Dr. Lyons, while improved access care is substantial for 4.2 million low-income seniors, that access is limited, further development is dubious, and efforts at state level are lessened, so that this omnipotent source is straining at the weave—impacted as it is by fiscal concerns and by the ever-increasing senior health insurance needs of an ever-expanding senior population.
In an attempt to augment senior health insurance benefits, In May of 2004, President George W. Bush implemented as part of his general health care plan a Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (as per a White House press release). A Medicare Drug Discount Card is now offered to seniors to help them with prescription drug costs. But reports over the past six months reveal a very small percentage of low-income seniors are taking advantage of the plan, either because—according to Kathryn Foxhall--it is too complicated and confusing for them or because seniors feel the
The Medicare Reform law provides for $600 annually for prescription drugs for Medicare enrolled seniors who are not receiving prescription drugs from the Medicare senior health insurance program. But as for how many have taken advantage of the new law, a reported 4 million senior citizens (according to a White House press release) have tried to do their part in lightening the load of burden on the Medicaid safety net. Who will follow is yet to be determined.