On Wednesday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2025 proposed payment updates for the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Programs. These updates to the payment policies come at a time when MA enrollment continues to skyrocket. Under the proposal, MA plans would see a 3.70% — or […]
Kaiser Family Foundation
Though the vast majority of seniors are living in their communities, as opposed to assisted living or nursing homes, only a third of these individuals are receiving financial support or assistance from Medicaid to pay for home- and community-based services. That’s one takeaway from a recent Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) webinar. Seniors that aren’t getting […]
Waiting lists for home- and community-based services have long been a topic of discussion, despite the lack of clarity around them. It turns out they have included 700,000 people in most years since 2016, according to a new data analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). When changes in numbers have occurred over the years, […]
Over the past several years, many states have strengthened their home- and community-based services (HCBS) programs by covering more services and increasing rates. Now, over a dozen members of Congress are trying to give states additional funding to help expand those HCBS programs further. “A vast majority of seniors and people with disabilities would prefer […]
A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation shines further light on how popular home- and community-based services (HCBS) are in the U.S. It also makes clear how much cheaper HCBS delivery is for states in comparison to institutional-based care. In 2020, Medicaid programs spent an average of $36,275 per individual on HCBS. They spent […]
Workforce growth has not kept pace with the growth of utilization in home- and community-based services (HCBS), a new study found. From 2013 to 2019, the number of home care workers per 100 HCBS participants declined by 11.6%. Preliminary estimates suggest that a decline in that ratio continued post-2020. “When you look over time, we […]
The Biden administration has made mention of home-based care regularly and intentionally during its tenure in the White House. It did so again Wednesday, this time through 50-plus directives for government agencies, many of which were home care-related. Though still just directives, the sitting president making this sweeping of an executive order focused on senior […]
In less than two weeks, there may be far fewer eligible Medicaid beneficiaries. Medicaid membership ballooned during the pandemic. Millions of people were suddenly eligible for public health care when companies went through layoffs and when unemployment spiked. Over the past three years, states were told not to disenroll people who didn’t specifically request it. […]
Insurers are reporting much higher gross margins per enrollee in the Medicare Advantage (MA) market than in other health insurance markets, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis. At the same time, many Medicare Advantage plans continue to play hardball with home health providers by rationing utilization and offering low rates. The KFF analysis […]
In order to aid home- and community-based services, states are increasing provider payments to stave off the effects of workforce shortages. Plenty of states have also increased self-directed and family caregiving opportunities for HCBS beneficiaries throughout the pandemic. Those are two of the main takeaways from a recent study done by the Kaiser Family Foundation […]