New law should increase older adults’ funds for LTSS, advocates say
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jan 06, 2020
A bill that raises the minimum age at which people are required to withdraw funds from their retirement accounts was signed into law in late December as part of a spending package that also increased funding...
HCBS, caregivers focus of presidential hopeful Cory Booker’s long-term care plan
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jan 03, 2020
Changing eligibility for long-term services and supports, expanding access to home- and community-based services, increasing compensation for paid caregivers and finding a way to compensate family caregivers...
Bill would let people tap retirement accounts for long-term care insurance
By
Lois A. Bowers
Dec 03, 2019
Individuals would be allowed to withdraw up to $2,000 per year from their retirement accounts, tax-free, to pay for long-term care insurance to fund long-term services and supports under a bill proposed...
Assisted living threatened by looming federal expirations
By
Lois A. Bowers
Dec 02, 2019
A federal rule provision and a federal program, both of which help enable older adults to live in assisted living or at home rather than in nursing homes, are set to expire Dec. 31 unless Congress acts.
‘Replace denial with proposal’ on long-term care, House committee told
By
Lois A. Bowers
Nov 15, 2019
Congress must “replace denial with a detailed, bipartisan legislative proposal on long-term care” to address the needs of a growing older population facing high costs for healthcare and housing, Robert...
A divided Congress isn’t all bad news, NCAL executive director says
By
Lois A. Bowers
Oct 14, 2019
There’s some good news associated with the divided Congress that hasn’t accomplished much this year, National Center for Assisted Living Executive Director Scott Tittle said Sunday during NCAL Day.
Bipartisan effort probes federal oversight of Medicaid managed LTSS programs
By
Lois A. Bowers
Sep 03, 2019
Sept. 13 is the deadline Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Bob Casey (D-PA) on Friday gave to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Administrator Seema Verma and the directors of the eight external quality review...
Executive order favors HCBS over nursing homes
By
Lois A. Bowers
Aug 06, 2019
A new executive order from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf calls for state agencies to find ways to transition older adults from nursing homes to home- and community-based settings. Such settings can include...
Providers should be ‘actively involved’ as some Medicare beneficiaries begin receiving nonmedical...
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jul 26, 2019
Two reports issued Thursday focus on ways the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services can offer nonmedical supplemental benefits to chronically ill enrollees.
OIG finds potentially ‘significant’ health and safety issues at HCBS sites
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jul 17, 2019
Kentucky put at risk the health and safety of some older and disabled adults receiving home- and community-based services through section 1915(c) Medicaid waivers because its annual inspections were “insufficient,”...