“Medicare vs. Medicaid for Long-Term Care: What You Don’t Know Can Cost You,” by Michael W. Lynch, The Street
“The study also notes that only 6% of Americans believe Medicaid will pay. Yet Medicaid picks up 61% of the total tab. Medicaid is in fact the fallback long-term care financing plan for all Americans. We pay for it through taxes at the federal and state levels. Some of the confusion is simply because of name similarities – Medicare and Medicaid sound similar and the general public may not understand the difference. Frequently, people who say ‘Medicare will pay’ mean ‘Medicaid will pay,’ which it actually does. The problem is noted by the same authors in another study. ‘Medicaid is a safety net, but not an effective form of insurance,’ the authors write, ‘since its deductible is virtually all a household’s assets.’ I will address ways to avoid this deductible in my next piece.”
LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform:
How confused these studies and their interpreters are! The underlying facts are pretty straight forward. Medicaid pays for most LTC and its deductible is certainly not “virtually all a household’s assets.” The middle class and affluent qualify for Medicaid LTC benefits while retaining most of their wealth. That’s the source of most LTC service delivery problems. Learn all about it here: see the Paragon Health Institute’s “Long-Term Care: The Problem” and “Long-Term Care: The Solution” and watch this “virtual LTC event” featuring age wave visionary Ken Dychtwald and leading LTC researchers. To find ample private funds for LTC, check out “Medicaid’s $100+ Billion Leak.” For what not to do, see “Medi-Cal-amity: California’s Reckless Expansion of Medicaid Long-Term Care to the Affluent.” Much more on long-term care here.