It took some lobbying and a lot of work on the legislative side by the Assisted Living Federation of America, but the organization of executives who manage some of the top properties say that the health care reform bill passed by Congress will mean good things for seniors and and seniors-to-be.
“Twenty years ago, seniors and their families had few options to turn to for long term assistance and support other than expensive, institutional-like nursing homes,” said Richard Grimes, president and CEO of the Assisted Living Federation of America. “The new health care law takes us even further by giving more seniors greater access to resident-centered options.”
At a conference in Phoenix, Grimes and others focused on the expansion of care options because of new training initiatives and job development programs for facility assistants and health care aides at various residents, making sure that as America’s population grays, there will be adequate staffing.
While the bill is still being reviewed the federal Department of Health and Human Services which will manage some of its tenets, the senior business executives at the ALFA conference said that they would be monitoring its progress to ensure that flexibility was included in service delivery.
Portable Health & Long Term Care Insurance
That includes making health insurance and long term care insurance benefits portable for seniors and families who may need to move to find the right facility for them. It will mean that they won’t need to switch insurance providers or complete as much lengthy paperwork in order to receive help with their care.
As previously noted on this blog, it also creates a sort of social security starting in 2013 for assisted living and home health care needs where people who begin submitting funds early in life are guaranteed payments once they reach retirement age, usually about $50 per day.
“At the same time, the law could help reduce the cost burden of long term care by increasing access to less expensive, more home-like options such as assisted living,” concluded Maribeth Bersani, ALFA’s senior vice president of public policy.
There is still work to be done, Grimes and others noted. But the fact remains that the changes will enable more seniors the chance to live in a facility that seems more like a residence than a hospital, providing assisted living services as elderly Americans live their twilight years.
Tags: Assisted Living Affordability, assisted living costs, Health Care Reform
