Will long term care win?Candidates pay lip service lip service n. Verbal expression of agreement or allegiance, unsupported by real conviction or action; hypocritical respect: to financial reform THE DETAILS OF THEIR SOLUTIONS ARE sketchy, but this much is clear: more than ever, this year's candidates are being called on to tell Americans how they propose to solve the long term care finance crisis. "It is definitely a credit to the candidates that they are all beginning to look at long term care finance reform," said a spokesperson for the American Health Care Association The American Health Care Association (AHCA) is non-profit federation of affiliated state health organizations, together representing more than 10,000 non-profit and for-profit assisted living, nursing facility, developmentally-disabled, and subacute care providers that care for (AHCA AHCA Agency for Health Care Administration AHCA American Health Care Association AHCA American Hockey Coaches Association AHCA American Highland Cattle Association AHCA Australian Health Care Agreement AHCA Austin Healey Club of America ). It's also a credit to organizations such as The Long Term Care Campaign [less than]www.ltccampaign.org[greater than] and Citizens For Long Term Care [less than]www.citizensforltc.org[greater than]. They've put unprecedented pressure on the media and the candidates to speak to the issues of long term care. "Our goal is to get the candidates to address long term care specifically," said Patrick Brady, executive director of Citizens For Long Term Care. The nonpartisan grassroots organization was formed in March 1999 to raise the issue of long term care financing reform in the 2000 presidential election. Its member organizations represent more than 40 million people. Citizens For Long Term Care and The Long Term Care Campaign do not endorse candidates. Neither do industry groups such as AHCA, the American Association American Association refers to one of the following professional baseball leagues:
The effort is paying off, said Brady. "The first question the moderator tossed out to Gary Bauer Gary L. Bauer (born May 4 1946, Covington, Kentucky)[1] is a conservative American politician notable for his ties to several evangelical Christian groups and campaigns. In 1973, Bauer received a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University. at the Republican debates in Iowa had to do with long term care." Still, most candidates have yet to satisfy pleas for detailed plans. What the frontrunners propose: * Bill Bradley: Proposes doing away with Medicaid and allowing the uninsured to join the health care program that covers federal workers. He favors subsidies and tax breaks to help people buy their own insurance. He wants to help people age at home by providing support for daily activities. * George W. Bush: Supports medical savings accounts and more prescription drug prescription drug Prescription medication Pharmacology An FDA-approved drug which must, by federal law or regulation, be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription–eg, finished dose form and active ingredients subject to the provisos of the Federal Food, Drug, plan options for Medicare patients. He also would provide incentives to people to purchase private long term care insurance coverage. * Al Gore: Proposes revamping Medicaid to allow for coverage of those who want to stay in their homes. He supports a tax credit for caregivers, development of the long-term care long-term care (LTC), n the provision of medical, social, and personal care services on a recurring or continuing basis to persons with chronic physical or mental disorders. insurance market, and Clinton's plan to extend prescription drug coverage under Medicare. * John McCain: Favors tax deductions for long term care insurance, medical savings accounts, and stronger community and home-based services. He vowed to spend a billion dollars to improve long term care, especially for veterans, but has not detailed those plans. Unnecessary Infusion * About 50 percent of infusion therapy services provided to nursing home patients from 1995 to 1998 were medically unnecessary. * Suppliers charged SNFs up to 10 times the going rate for infusion drugs. * Three companies accounted for about 20 percent of the infusion therapy costs reimbursed by Medicare. Source: Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General Noun 1. Office of Inspector General - the investigative arm of the Federal Trade Commission OIG independent agency - an agency of the United States government that is created by an act of Congress and is independent of the executive departments |
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