“Fate Worse Than Death: Many Long-Term Care Residents Lose All Independence, Study Says,” by Dennis Thompson, HealthDay
“A significant number of long-term care patients consider their state a fate worse than death, as they become completely powerless and vulnerable due to their severe disabilities, a new study says. bout 20% of people newly admitted to long-term residential care become permanently unable to make everyday decisions for themselves with29in five years, researchers reported April 23 in JAMA Network Open.”
LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform:
This article does not, but should have, differentiated by payment source. Most long-stayers rely on Medicaid, which pays two-thirds of what private payers contribute. Who is more likely to experience a fate worse than death in LTC? A Medicaid recipient or a private payer, from personal wealth or LTCI?