Addressing Long-Term Services and Supports Reform via Medicare. Yes, Medicare, That Post-Acute Care Program

ABSTRACT

Reform of the U.S. long-term services and supports (LTSS) financing system has been historically difficult to achieve. This article outlines several recent reform proposals and offers a path forward on achieving LTSS reform. These proposals include the Commonwealth Fund’s Medicare Help at Home proposal, the work of the Bipartisan Policy Center, as well as the State of Minnesota to develop an LTSS benefit. All three proposals focus on an expansion of Medicare to cover the LTSS needs of Americans. While Medicare increasingly pays for LTSS, these approaches ensure that the role of Medicare in LTSS financing is much more coordinated. Enhancing Medicare’s role reduces the current reliance on Medicaid, the default payer of LTSS, while providing an opportunity for a more robust private insurance market to develop. This would help provide for the immediate LTSS needs of Americans while building a more sustainable and equitable financing system for future generations.

KEYWORDS:

• Long-term services and supports
• Medicare
• Medicaid
• health reform

Disclosure statement

John Cutler is a consultant to the State of Minnesota.

Notes

1. The terms long-term services and supports and long-term care are often used interchangeably. Both refer to the assistance needed when the ability to care for oneself has been reduced by chronic illness, disability, or advanced age.