Literature Review

Here’s why you can’t die peacefully in Oklahoma.By Abby RemmingThe OklahomanDecember 6, 2023... Having Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan would cover hospice, but many people have private insurance from work or state Medicaid plans. Private insurance and Medicaid Advantage plans at times can have a hospice benefit but limit which companies can be used. Applying for Medicare will ensure you are covered for hospice. ... I currently work as a hospital social worker and assist many people who need hospice. Many times, I have had to share with patients and their families that, while they may be ready to peacefully pass away, hospice coverage is not included in the patient’s current insurance plan. Providing end-of-life care is extremely difficult without the added burden of worrying whether insurance will cover the benefit. Those without the benefit and who need the service are then reliant upon the generosity of the companies to absorb the cost. If the Medicaid Advantage plan is picked, a person would need to decide if they wanted the benefit to either cover nursing home care or in-home hospice care. A Medicaid Advantage plan might not cover hospice even when the policyholder believes they have the benefit. 

Shifting focus to MA will alter ‘life as we know it’ for home care providers, experts sayMcKnight’s Home Care DailyDecember 7, 2023Medicare Advantage is disrupting the traditional home care landscape, experts from the Research Institute for Home Care said in a webinar hosted Wednesday afternoon by the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. As MA continues to dominate Medicare and cover those beneficiaries receiving home health, certain trends—such as access issues or shifting utilization rates for services within traditional Medicare—have become more pronounced. “Medicare Advantage is growing, and that’s going to result in a decreased volume in home health claims among traditional Medicare beneficiaries,” Elizabeth Hamlett, senior research associate for evaluation and health economics at KNG Health, said during the webinar about the recently released 2023 RIHC [Research Industry for Home Care] Chartbook. Home health users in general also may become more reflective of the characteristics of MA beneficiaries—which essentially means sicker and poorer, she said. ... However, MA and fee-for-service beneficiaries showed greater variation in their reported access to home health services. “What we’re seeing here is potentially an access problem for Medicare Advantage users,” Hamlett said.

More people with dementia opting to age in place over senior livingMcKnight’s Senior LivingDecember 7, 2023People living with dementia are more likely to choose aging in place over an assisted living or a continuing care retirement community, according to a new study. A research letter in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reported that over the last two decades, a variety of factors have shifted where people with dementia live, including family caregiver availability, declining marriage and birth rates, alternative residential care arrangements, Medicaid expansion of home- and community-based services and the long-term care workforce crisis. Researchers said their study showed that the COVID-19 pandemic noticeably altered living arrangements for individuals living with dementia, increasing the number of those opting to age in place. ... What concerned researchers was increasing functional impairment and levels of unmet needs among those living alone or in a residential care setting, including assisted living and CCRCs, “given the limited regulatory oversight and lack of uniformity in services available in these settings.”

Home Care Company Best of Care Acquires Barton’s AngelsHome Health Care NewsDecember 6, 2023The home care provider Best of Care is expanding its portfolio once again, this time on its 43rd anniversary. On Wednesday, the company announced that it had acquired Barton’s Angels, also a home care provider. ... “Barton’s Angels was attractive to us because of its reputation, its legacy, its leadership and the overlapping business they had in the form of shared contracts and referral sources,” Best of Care CEO Kevin Smith told Home Health Care News. ... Best of Care also works with both Medicaid and private-pay clients. Based in Quincy, Massachusetts, the company provides services via its 450 caregivers to over 1,500 clients across all of Massachusetts. ... For Best of Care, the goal is to be close to a one-stop shop for seniors navigating the aging process.

New Analysis Shows How Unaffordable Home Care Is Becoming For American SeniorsHome Health Care NewsDecember 4, 2023Most Americans will need some sort of in-home care support as they age. The issue is that many of them cannot afford it. ... Only 14% of American seniors can afford to do so [pay for personal care services], however, according to a new analysis conducted by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

NAHC offers guidance, prevention strategies for home care workplace violenceMcKnight’s Home Care DailyDecember 4, 2023Providers and their caregivers need to take actions to protect themselves against workplace violence, a group of experts said in a webinar sponsored by the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. “We may not be able to 100% prevent violence for safety concerns in the home setting,” Candyce Slusher, owner of senior care consulting firm Slusher Consulting, said during the Wednesday webinar. “So we’ll do what we can to recognize those things ahead of time and try to protect our staff, but they also need to know how to protect themselves and feel comfortable coming to you when there’s issues.”

Humana Partners With CINQCARE To Deliver Home-Based Care To Medicare Advantage MembersHome Health Care NewsNovember 30, 2023Humana Inc. has formed a partnership with CINQCARE, a health care company that delivers care in the home and community. ... As part of the collaboration, the companies will serve Humana’s New York Medicare Advantage members in their homes.