The Smoke and Mirrors of Overall health Care Reform for the Elderly
I’m deeply concerned that the American public, specially our nation’s elders, will be relying on our government to supply extended term care solutions they’ll under no circumstances see. They’ll only see the “smoke and mirrors” of Wellness Care Reform.
Our nation’s seniors are the most vulnerable segment of the U.S. population vulnerable each overall health sensible and financially. They’re silently discovering the savings they thought would be adequate is not adequate. They’re silently fearful of operating out of funds with no one to care for them as they turn into extra frail. The silence is about to come to be deafening.
Regrettably, when Health Care Reform proudly announced New Extended Term Care Solutions, it discouraged several American’s from purchasing Extended Term Care Insurance coverage.
The New York Occasions reported on ‘Options Expand for Cost-effective Long-Term Care’ THE NEW OLD AGE. The Linked Press announced ‘New Wellness Care Law Has Positive aspects for Seniors’. Point getting, the casual reader was relieved to hear their government will “take care of them” when they require lengthy term care solutions. We now know that is not about to come about.
Thankfully our representatives in Washington discovered that Health Care Reforms answer to the issue of Lengthy Term Care, “CLASS”, (Neighborhood Living Assistance Services and Supports Act) legislation would have been fiscally unsound. $70 billion in premiums that was expected to be raised for the new “lengthy term care” program would have been counted as “deficit reduction”. The long term care advantages it was intended to finance have been assumed not to materialize in the initial ten years. Having said that, that funds was not accounted for anywhere in the legislation.
The new legislation proposed to “trim” $463 billion from Medicare. Yet Medicare is at the moment having trouble balancing its books now. However, why does the wellness care bill tell us Medicare can operate additional cheaply going forward without the need of the accompanying reforms?
Our national media gave massive fanfare to the CLASS ACT when it passed. Sadly the media has offered the CLASS ACT’s demise small interest. Now what?
Projections show that the federal deficit is expected to exceed $700 billion annually over the subsequent decade. This basically will double the national and $900 billion represents interest on prior debt. Would the CFO of any main corporation in the United States permit the company he worked for to finish up in this type of monetary position? Absolutely not.
Our officials in Congress have been elected to guard the finest interests of the American people today. “Robbing Peter to spend Paul”, and after once again printing much more currency, has develop into our government’s mantra for the future. Yet the magnitude of the mismanagement of America’s purse strings has now reached an unconscionable state.
The United States of America can’t continue to mismanage its financial future. Future Congresses will have to deliver a multitude of future reforms and, regrettably, history tells us THAT will never occur. Proposals for financing overall health reform have been based on much more “smoke and mirrors”. The “Cadillac” tax is scheduled to begin in 2018.
The overall health care legislation that has been forced on every single and each a single of us is known to be fiscally unsound. Exactly where do we go from here? It’s as well uncomplicated to point the finger at the President and his administration. But Congress owns the duty of passing Wellness Care Legislation. And THAT is the dilemma.
The 535 voting members of Congress shared the duty equally. If 1 clear thinking, intelligent, honorable Congressman had the entire responsibility for Health Care Reform, he or she would not have forced a fiscally unsound Well being Care Reform Bill down our throats.
Now let’s once again evaluate how Health Care Reform will operate against our senior citizens.
A most recent government report identified that in 2000 there have been 1.8 million offered nursing household beds. As the year 2010 came to a close, there have been 1.7 million nursing household beds a net 5 percent reduction in accessible beds. And, there are no new nursing homes getting built.
Now there’s significantly less than 1.five million Americans confined to nursing properties. Reportedly ten % of these nursing houses are operating under bankruptcy protection. It is effectively identified that most of these facilities are understaffed and several don’t have competent enable.
Next, let’s take into consideration that the Alzheimer’s Association tells us the likelihood of establishing Alzheimer’s immediately after age 85 is 50 percent. By 2030, they tell us that the quantity of persons age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s disease is estimated to reach 7.7 million, a 50 percent raise from the five.two million age 65 and older presently affected.
The logical query I ought to ask is “if we can’t take adequate care of 1.5 million persons these days, how can we possibly take care of 7.7 million men and women in 2030?” We cannot. Much more simply place, when you or your spouse or your parent has Alzheimer’s, there is no place for them to go. Not to be cruel, but if you ever think for a moment about taking in an aged parent with Alzheimer’s into your residence, please believe once more. Ask any caregiver who’s been by way of it. It’s Guaranteed to destroy any families’ peace of mind and harmony.
Why aren’t our political leaders actively working on solutions? Where’s the outcry? Regrettably our political leaders only align themselves with solvable issues.
America’s seniors became extra hopeful reading that Health Reform will help them with added Long Term Care services. And we now know THAT is not going to happen. There are no plans in place to support our nation’s seniors believe they will obtain the comfort and dignity of adequate extended term care services. What is Healthcare reviews is the silence shared by all our political leaders. The silence is now deafening.