WASHINGTON, July 27 (UPI) -- Medicaid Thursday announced a series of new policies to encourage people to plan for their future long-term-care needs.
The new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid policies include incentives for people to buy private long-term-care insurance, improved rules governing the transfer of assets to prevent inappropriate use of taxpayer funded programs, and improved coordination of care for those with both Medicare and Medicaid coverage, the so-called dual eligibles who are in managed care plans.
"One of the greatest challenges facing our nation is providing high-quality care for older Americans when their health declines," said Mark McClellan, administrator of CMS. "As the Baby Boom generation approaches Medicare eligibility we need to make sure that benefits are secure and available for those who need them."
Previously, Medicaid required seniors to have spent all or nearly all of their assets before they could receive coverage for long-term care. In states that adopt the new incentive programs, called LTC Partnerships, beneficiaries will be able to keep assets equal to the amount paid out by private long-term-care insurance.
States may apply to Medicaid to adopt LTC Partnership programs as long as they require policies sold under the program to meet strict consumer protection conditions set by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' long-term-care model regulations. California, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa and New York are already operating LTC Partnership programs under the authority of earlier legislation that will continue to operate.
