Salinas, CA: States Cutting Medicaid Hospital Stay Coverage. Is California Next?: View From A Privat
Salinas, CA: States Cutting Medicaid Hospital Stay Coverage. Is California Next?: View From A Private Duty Caregiver Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Gilroy, Gonzalez, Greenfield, Hollister, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, San Juan Bautista, Seaside And Soledad California
There was an article in USA Today this morning entitled States to limit hospital stays, which talked about the growing trend of putting limits on the number of hospital stays per year that Medicaid (MediCal in California) would pay for. Although it hasn't happened in California yet, I wouldn't be surprised if Governor Jerry Brown is the next to jump on this bandwagon after he was thwarted in his effort to extend temporary taxes which expired on June 30. Hawaii has announced it will limit Medicaid patients to just 10 days per year, the lowest of any state. Hospitals are up in arms because they say they will have to foot the bill for these patients which will essentially become uninsured after their maximum stay. That in turn, will cause hospitals to raise costs for the privately insured, which means that insurance premiums for small businesses like Family inHome Caregiving will likely go up, not down as President Obama had hoped would happen under the new health care reform law. This seems to me to be a ridiculous idea. Medi-Cal was designed to meet the health care needs of children, people with disabilities and the elderly who are very poor. Cutting access to health care for the poor doesn't seem like an ideal way for states to deal with their budget crises. The Federal Government is helping states in the matter too. It has to sign off on changes in coverage like cutting the number of hospital stay days, and it already has in four states and Arizona and Hawaii plan to join them bringing it to six. California has already announced that it plans to cut adult day care coverage and limit Medi-Cal patient visits to seven per year. The problem is just going to get worse as the poor economy is forcing more of the unemployed to file for Medi-Cal.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-10-23/states-limit-medicaid-hospital-stays/50886398/1
About Richard Kuehn & Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey:
After more than a decade of caregiving, both in a professional environment and for a 97 year old family member I was dissatisfied with service from local caregiving agencies. I became convinced of the need for a service which provides very personal assistance to elderly and founded Family inHome Caregiving serving the Monterey Peninsula. Please visit my blog where I talk about important senior issues at:
http://www.familyinhomecaregiving.com/Blog
There was an article in USA Today this morning entitled States to limit hospital stays, which talked about the growing trend of putting limits on the number of hospital stays per year that Medicaid (MediCal in California) would pay for. Although it hasn't happened in California yet, I wouldn't be surprised if Governor Jerry Brown is the next to jump on this bandwagon after he was thwarted in his effort to extend temporary taxes which expired on June 30. Hawaii has announced it will limit Medicaid patients to just 10 days per year, the lowest of any state. Hospitals are up in arms because they say they will have to foot the bill for these patients which will essentially become uninsured after their maximum stay. That in turn, will cause hospitals to raise costs for the privately insured, which means that insurance premiums for small businesses like Family inHome Caregiving will likely go up, not down as President Obama had hoped would happen under the new health care reform law. This seems to me to be a ridiculous idea. Medi-Cal was designed to meet the health care needs of children, people with disabilities and the elderly who are very poor. Cutting access to health care for the poor doesn't seem like an ideal way for states to deal with their budget crises. The Federal Government is helping states in the matter too. It has to sign off on changes in coverage like cutting the number of hospital stay days, and it already has in four states and Arizona and Hawaii plan to join them bringing it to six. California has already announced that it plans to cut adult day care coverage and limit Medi-Cal patient visits to seven per year. The problem is just going to get worse as the poor economy is forcing more of the unemployed to file for Medi-Cal.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-10-23/states-limit-medicaid-hospital-stays/50886398/1
About Richard Kuehn & Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey:
After more than a decade of caregiving, both in a professional environment and for a 97 year old family member I was dissatisfied with service from local caregiving agencies. I became convinced of the need for a service which provides very personal assistance to elderly and founded Family inHome Caregiving serving the Monterey Peninsula. Please visit my blog where I talk about important senior issues at:
http://www.familyinhomecaregiving.com/Blog
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