White House Abandons Long Term Care Component of AHA
The provisions of the Affordable Care Act intended to provide affordable long term care assistance have been scrapped. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (correctly in my view) says it wouldn't be economically viable. Premiums would be too high, healthy people and young people wouldn't enroll.
There are no plans to revamp it. It certainly was not an entitlement:
It would have been financed with premiums paid by workers, through voluntary payroll deductions, with no federal subsidy.
[More...]
The cost of nursing homes is outrageous:
At $75,000 a year for a nursing home and $18,000 a year for home health care, most families cannot afford to pay out of pocket,” [Sebelius] said.
Most insurance companies don't pay benefits under long term care policies unless you can't do two of these three things: toilet yourself, feed yourself and dress yourself.
I've spent enough time in both assisted living facilities and nursing homes to know I'm wouldn't go to either one, even if they were free. I'd probably take a final cruise down the Danube, so to speak. Others may feel differently, and that's their choice. But I won't lament the decision not to enrich insurance companies who for excessive premiums pay a smidgeon of the outrageous cost.
| < Friday Open Thread | Friday Night Open Thread > |
