BREAKING NEWS: Health (2)

Menthol cigarette restrictions could lead to healthier choices

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 17:31:54 +0000

Nationwide, fewer people smoke than did a decade ago, but the proportion who smoke menthol-flavored cigarettes is on the rise.

Advanced deep learning technique enhances choroidal vessel visualization

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 17:20:52 +0000

Researchers from Peking University have developed a novel noninvasive choroidal angiography method that enables layer-wise visualization and evaluation of choroidal vessels using deep learning.

$1 million grant supports research on groundbreaking therapies for MS

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 17:08:42 +0000

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating disease of the brain and spinal cord that impacts millions worldwide.

Study examines impact of birthing positions on maternal satisfaction

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 16:58:00 +0000

Whether lying on their back, all-fours position, sitting upright or squatting - women adopt different birthing positions during childbirth.

Remote interpreting raises concerns about communication quality in healthcare

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 16:13:20 +0000

As the healthcare sector leaned heavily on technology during the COVID-19 pandemic, interpreters reported mixed experiences that raises serious questions about the effectiveness of remote communication platforms in critical medical settings.

Researchers develop the first polymer-based therapeutic for Huntington’s disease

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 14:25:00 +0000

Breakthrough polymer-based therapy shows promise in reversing Huntington's disease symptoms by preventing toxic protein clumps and enhancing neuronal survival.

Mortality risk higher for those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at younger ages

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 13:49:00 +0000

Findings indicate younger-onset type 2 diabetes is associated with higher mortality and complications, highlighting the need for focused healthcare strategies.

Space-grown stem cells show promise for accelerating biotherapies

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 13:15:06 +0000

Stem cells grown in microgravity aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have unique qualities that could one day help accelerate new biotherapies and heal complex disease, two Mayo Clinic researchers say.

Grant awarded to build a portable PET scanner for early Alzheimer's detection

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 12:59:25 +0000

Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have received a five-year $6.2 million grant from the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health, to build a portable, high-resolution Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner that can detect the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Ketogenic diets could be better for menstrual health, period

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 12:59:00 +0000

Ketogenic diets show promise in affecting menstrual physiology, with increased cycle frequency and intensity observed in pre-menopausal women with obesity.

Scheduling Surgery After A Heart Attack? Here's How Long You Might Have To Wait

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 09:52:21 +0000

Researchers have now identified a "sweet spot" for safely scheduling surgeries in those who had a heart attack.

Election Outcome Could Bring Big Changes to Medicare

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 09:00:00 +0000

On the campaign trail, both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are eager to portray themselves as guardians of Medicare. Each presidential candidate accuses the other of backing spending cuts and other policies that would damage the health insurance program for older Americans.

But the election’s outcome could alter the very nature of the nearly 60-year-old federal program. More than half of Medicare beneficiaries are already enrolled in plans, called Medicare Advantage, run by commercial insurers, and if Trump wins, that proportion is expected to grow — perhaps dramatically.

Trump and many congressional Republicans have already taken steps to aggressively promote Medicare Advantage. And Project 2025, a political wish list produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation for the next presidency, calls for making insurer-run plans the default enrollment option for Medicare.

Such a change would effectively privatize the program, because people tend to stick with the plans they’re initially enrolled in, health analysts say. Trump has repeatedly tried to distance himself from Project 2025, though the document’s authors include numerous people who worked in his first administration.

Conservatives say Medicare beneficiaries are better off in the popular Advantage plans, which offer more benefits than the traditional, government-run program. Critics say increasing insurers’ control of the program would trap consumers in health plans that are costlier to taxpayers and that can restrict their care, including by imposing onerous prior authorization requirements for some procedures.

“Traditional Medicare will wither on the vine,” said Robert Berenson, a former official in the Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton administrations who’s now a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, a left-leaning research group.

While the fate of Medicare has gotten scant attention so far in the campaign, the different visions under Trump versus Harris indicate the high stakes.

A candidate’s position on protecting Medicare and Social Security is the most important health care issue, or among the most important, in determining 63% of Americans’ vote in the presidential election, according to a September poll by Gallup and West Health, a family of nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations focused on health care and aging.

Medicare, which covers about 66 million people, is funded largely by payroll taxes. At age 65, most Americans are automatically enrolled in Medicare coverage for hospitalization and doctor visits, known as Part A and Part B, though others must sign up. Consumers must also sign up for other aspects of Medicare, specifically drug coverage (Part D) and supplemental plans from insurers that pay for costs that aren’t covered by traditional Medicare, such as extended stays in skilled nursing facilities and cost sharing.

People on Medicare pay premiums plus as much as 20% of the cost of their care.

Medicare Advantage plans typically combine coverage for hospital and outpatient care and prescriptions, while eliminating the 20% coinsurance requirement and capping customers’ annual out-of-pocket costs. Many of the plans don’t charge an extra monthly premium, though some carry a deductible — an amount patients must pay each year before coverage kicks in.

Sometimes the plans throw in extras like coverage for eye exams and glasses or gym memberships.

However, they control costs by limiting patients to networks of approved doctors and hospitals, with whom the plans negotiate payment rates. Some hospitals and doctors refuse to do business with some or all Medicare Advantage plans, making those networks narrow or limited. Traditional Medicare, in comparison, is accepted by nearly every hospital and doctor.

Medicare’s popularity is one reason both candidates are pledging to enhance it. Last month, Harris released a plan that would add benefits including care for hearing and vision, and long-term in-home health care. The costs would be covered by savings from expanding Medicare’s negotiations with drugmakers, reducing fraud, and increasing discounts drugmakers pay for certain brand-name drugs in the program, according to Harris’ campaign.

Trump’s campaign said he would prioritize home care benefits and support unpaid family caregivers through tax credits and reduced red tape.

The Trump campaign also noted enhancements to Medicare Advantage plans during his tenure as president, such as increasing access to telehealth and expanding supplemental benefits for seniors with chronic diseases.

But far less attention has been paid to whether to give even more control of Medicare to private insurers. Joe Albanese, a senior policy analyst at Paragon Health Institute, a right-leaning research group, said “a Trump administration and GOP Congress would be more friendly” to the idea.

The concept of letting private insurers run Medicare isn’t new. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican, asserted in 1995 that traditional Medicare would fade away if its beneficiaries could pick between the original program and private plans.

The shift to Medicare Advantage was accelerated by legislation in 2003 that created Medicare’s drug benefit and gave private health plans a far greater role in the program.

Lawmakers thought private insurers could better contain costs. Instead, the plans have cost more. In 2023, Medicare Advantage plans cost the government and taxpayers about 6% — or $27 million — more than original Medicare, though some research shows they provide better care.

The Trump administration promoted Medicare Advantage in emails during the program’s open enrollment period each year, but support for the privately run plans has become bipartisan as they have grown.

“It helps inject needed competition into a government-run program and has proven to be more popular with those who switch,” said Roger Severino, lead architect of Project 2025’s section on the Department of Health and Human Services. He served as director of HHS’ civil rights office during the Trump administration.

But enrollees who want to switch back to traditional Medicare may not be able to. If they try to buy supplemental coverage for the 20% of costs Medicare doesn’t cover, they may find they have to pay an unaffordable premium. Unless they enroll in the plans close to the time they first become eligible for Medicare, usually at age 65, insurers selling those supplemental plans can deny coverage or charge higher premiums because of preexisting conditions.

“More members of Congress are hearing from constituents who are horrified and realize they are trapped in these plans,” said Andrea Ducas, vice president of health policy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal public policy organization.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

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Weight Loss Drugs Could Be A Treatment Option For Osteoarthritis: Says Study

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 07:30:42 +0000

A recent study revealed that semaglutide injections, a drug commonly used for weight loss, could dramatically reduce osteoarthritis symptoms, cutting pain levels by nearly 50%.

Study Links A Common Sleep Disorder To Dementia; Higher Risk In Women

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 06:11:02 +0000

The study revealed a concerning sex-specific link between obstructive sleep apnea and the risk of dementia.

Novel visualization method helps make sense of large neuronal activity datasets

Sat, 02 Nov 2024 13:10:01 +0000

Recent technological advances opened exciting possibilities for neuroscience, enabling the collection of increasingly detailed neural data. Making sense of the large number of neural recordings gathered by neuroscientists worldwide, however, has so far proved more challenging.

The Salton Sea -- an area rich with lithium -- is a hot spot for child respiratory issues

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 22:34:03 +0000

Windblown dust from the shrinking Salton Sea harms the respiratory health of children living nearby, triggering asthma, coughing, wheezing and disrupted sleep, USC research shows. The problem is likely to intensify in a hotter climate, with evaporation exposing more and more of the lake bed, or playa, leading to more dust events.

Increased rates of severe human infections caused by Streptococcus subspecies

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 22:34:01 +0000

A concerning increase in global rates of severe invasive infections becoming resistant to key antibiotics has a team of infectious disease researchers studying a recently emerged strain of bacteria called Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis. These infections range in severity from strep throat to flesh-eating disease.

Exposure to particular sources of air pollution is harmful to children's learning and memory

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 22:33:58 +0000

A new study involving 8,500 children from across the United States has revealed that a form of air pollution, largely the product of agricultural emissions, is linked to poor learning and memory performance in 9- and 10-year-olds. The specific pollutant, ammonium nitrate, is also implicated in Alzheimer's and dementia risk in adults, suggesting that PM2.5 may cause neurocognitive harm across the lifespan.

[Updated] CMS Finalizes 0.5% Home Health Payment Increase For 2025, More Permanent Cuts

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 20:28:55 +0000

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its CY 2025 home health final payment rule Friday.

It comes with an estimated aggregate increase to 2025 home health payments of 0.5%, or $85 million, compared to 2024 aggregate payments. But another permanent cut will be implemented in the new year.

“CMS estimates that Medicare payments to HHAs in CY 2025 would increase in the aggregate by 0.5%, or $85 million, compared to CY 2024,” the agency wrote in its fact sheet. “This rule finalizes a permanent prospective adjustment of -1.975% (half of the calculated permanent adjustment of -3.95%) to the CY 2025 home health payment rate to account for the impact of implementing the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM). … For CY 2023 and CY 2024, CMS previously applied a 3.925% reduction and a 2.890% reduction, respectively, which were half of the estimated required permanent adjustments.”

In June, CMS proposed a 1.7% decrease in payments for 2025, or an about $280 million aggregate reduction compared to 2024 levels. Within that proposal was also a permanent prospective adjustment to the CY 2025 home health payment rate of -4.067%.

As detailed above, CMS is finalizing a permanent prospective adjustment of -1.975% to the CY 2025 home health payment rate, short of what was proposed in the spring.

It is the third straight year that CMS has implemented permanent cuts to home health payments.

“Somehow CMS sees reduced access to home health services, the closures of hundreds of home health agencies, tens of millions fewer home health visits, and a reduction in overall Medicare spending on home health services as ‘budget neutral,’” National Alliance for Care at Home CEO Steven Landers said in a statement shared with Home Health Care News. “While decreasing the proposed permanent rate cut and withholding the massive temporary adjustment may slow the decline of the home health benefit a bit, we need CMS to reverse course on its dismantling of these essential services through its payment model. A net increase in Medicare spending projected for 2025 does not address the several years of unwarranted rate cuts and the shortfall in recognizing the significant inflationary pressures and cost increases that have been incurred. In no way can CMS defend its actions as ‘budget neutral.’ Home health access is a life and death issue for vulnerable homebound beneficiaries.”

The full fact sheet on the final rule can be viewed here.

Providers began to weigh in on Friday as well, including AccentCare, one of the largest home health organizations in the country.

“CMS continues its efforts to compromise the Medicare home health benefit, resulting in a substantial decline in access to high-quality, cost-effective home care,” an AccentCare spokesperson told HHCN. “Although the administration has repeatedly expressed support for home care, CMS’ decision to impose further cuts to home health payments suggests otherwise. Congress directed CMS to reform the home health payment system and maintain budget neutrality during that process. Yet, year after year, CMS has failed to follow the rules. It is time for Congress to step in and prevent the further erosion of the Medicare home health benefit.”

Based in Dallas, AccentCare has more than 250 locations across 32 states and the District of Columbia.

Other changes included

CMS finalized a number of other changes in the rule, some payment-related, and some not.

For one, CMS said it is finalizing updates to the Conditions of Participation (CoPs) to reduce “avoidable care delays.” It will do so by setting a standard for home health providers, the agency said, to ensure that referring entities and prospective patients can select the “most appropriate” provider based on their care needs.

That standard will now require home health providers to develop, implement and maintain – through an annual review – a “patient acceptance-to-service policy” that is applied to each prospective patient.

“We are finalizing a requirement that the policy must address, at a minimum, the following criteria related to the HHA’s capacity to provide patient care: the anticipated needs of the referred prospective patient, the HHA’s caseload and case mix, the HHA’s staffing levels, and the skills and competencies of the HHA staff,” CMS wrote.

Referral rejection rates have skyrocketed in home health care over recent years, mostly due to home health providers’ inability to staff cases. Providers generally blame home health cuts in traditional Medicare, as well as inadequate Medicare Advantage payment, for those rejection rates.

“This final rule does not prevent HHAs from maintaining their existing acceptance-to-service policies; rather, it is intended to complement them,” CMS continued. “Additionally, CMS is finalizing that HHAs must make available to the public accurate information regarding the services offered by the HHA and any service limitations related to types of specialty services, service duration, or service frequency.”

CMS also finalized changes to Low-Utilization Payment Adjustments (LUPAs) and OASIS.

“With sufficient recent claims data available, and to establish equitable compensation for all home health services, CMS proposed to establish a definitive occupational therapy (OT) specific LUPA add-on factor and discontinue the temporary use of the physical therapy (PT) LUPA add-on factor as a proxy,” CMS wrote. “We are finalizing the establishment of the OT LUPA add-on factor with the same methodology used to establish the skilled nursing (SN), physical therapy (PT), and speech-language pathology (SLP) LUPA add-on factors.”

In regards to OASIS, CMS is finalizing a “crosswalk for mapping OASIS-D data elements to the equivalent OASIS-E data elements.”

OASIS-E was implemented on Jan. 1, 2023, and lined up with the nationwide expansion of the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model.

Broadly, CMS is updating its systems for OASIS-E moving forward. In addition, 13 items on the OASIS-E are “no longer required to be asked at a follow-up visit.”

Finally, CMS introduced additional oversight measures for the home health industry, which has been marred by a few bad actors over the years.

“CMS is adding providers and suppliers that are reactivating their Medicare billing privileges to the categories of new providers and suppliers subject to a provisional period of enhanced oversight (PPEO),” the agency wrote. “CMS may impose a PPEO for 30 days to one year for new providers and suppliers. The goal of a PPEO is to reduce and prevent fraud, waste and abuse.”

The post [Updated] CMS Finalizes 0.5% Home Health Payment Increase For 2025, More Permanent Cuts appeared first on Home Health Care News.

BrightSpring CEO: Home Health, Hospice Acquisitions Offer ‘High Return On Investment’

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 20:04:27 +0000

The newest home-based care face on the public market, BrightSpring Health Services (Nasdaq: BTSG), is making strides.

The company announced a successful third quarter during its earnings call Friday. Leaders reported an overall increase in business and raised 2024 revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance.

Provider service segment revenue grew across service lines for the Louisville, Kentucky-based company. This was primarily attributed to billable hours growth and its Rehab in Motion program supporting Medicare Part B outpatient rehab patients.

“We anticipate Rehab in Motion to continue to evolve next year and grow to meaningful size over the next five years,” BrightSpring President and CEO Jon Rousseau said on the call. “Another way we are laying the foundation for long-term growth and better and more integrated prescriber and patient solutions.”

M&A and de novo expansion continue to be a focus, according to Rousseau. Toward the end of the third quarter, the company announced the closing of the Haven Hospice acquisition, expanding care to patients in Florida.

“From an acquisition strategy perspective, I think it’s going to be consistent with what we’ve done over the past couple of years,” he said. “On the provider side, it’s been rehab, home health and hospice, and then home-based primary care as well. We currently have three or four very small tuck-ins for home health and hospice, which are high returns on investment. On the de novo side, it’s really on home health, hospice and rehab.”

Rousseau also announced the addition of a third independent director to BrighSpring’s board of directors, Dr. Steve Miller.

“Dr. Miller brings decades of impressive clinical leadership experience,” Rousseau said. “I look forward to working with him to grow our company and deliver leading quality care to patients.”

Financial results

BrightSpring announced a total third-quarter revenue of $2.9 billion, representing 29% growth year over year. Adjusted EBITDA was $151 million, representing 16% growth year over year.

Within the provider services segment, the company reported a revenue of $641 million, representing a 10% growth compared to the prior year.

Specifically, home health care revenue was $265 million for the third quarter, a 13% increase compared to 2023. Community and rehab care revenue was reportedly $376 million, representing an 8% increase year over year.

“As a company, we continue to focus daily on bringing valuable, high-quality services to people across homes and communities all around us who can benefit from these services,” Rousseau said. “Quality, volume, growth and efficiency will remain our focus areas. We’re optimistic about closing out 2024 and getting into 2025 in a good position to make the biggest impact for people in our communities.”

The post BrightSpring CEO: Home Health, Hospice Acquisitions Offer ‘High Return On Investment’ appeared first on Home Health Care News.

Private, Public Sectors Both Needed To Solve Home Care Access Crisis

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 19:32:12 +0000

This article is a part of your HHCN+ Membership

Vice President Kamala Harris proposed a Medicare home care benefit earlier this month. Some found the proposal innovative and exciting, others found it unrealistic and potentially costly. Many in between found it well intentioned, but wanted to hear further details.

But more broadly, Harris’ proposal evoked an interesting conversation, at least in my mind. Who is better off improving access to home care for American seniors: the private sector or the public sector?

“The best answer is for the private sector to introduce new and varied business models that make high quality home care more affordable,” Arosa CEO Ari Medoff recently told Home Health Care News, in reaction to the proposal. “Innovation comes in many forms, though in our world today too often people define it solely in terms of technology.”

Tens of thousands of home care providers deliver services everyday. They are paid by multiple sources to do so – out of pocket (private pay); Medicaid (home- and community-based services); long-term care insurance; Veterans Affairs (VA); and Medicare Advantage (MA).

Namely, private pay, Medicaid and the VA drive the vast majority of home care services. But private-pay home care costs have skyrocketed over the last three years. Medicaid rates vary greatly by state, leaving access gaps in less sturdy reimbursement markets.

That leaves a huge swath of seniors without access to services that could keep them in their homes and out of more costly brick-and-mortar facilities. Harris’ proposal would theoretically help fix that.

This week’s exclusive, members-only HHCN+ Update considers a key question for home care moving forward: Who should be responsible for bridging the access gap?

Paying for home care

Home care leaders, including Medoff, reacted to Harris’ proposal in an HHCN story this week.

Medoff specifically touched on the need for the private sector to step up, and other leaders brought their own questions and comments to the table.

Among them:

– “What will happen to existing state-level Medicaid programs for private duty services?”

– “Will our states need to redirect Medicaid funding to CMS for a federal home care benefit?”

– “On the surface, this proposal is amazing and great to see, but underneath, it appears a lot of things need to fall into place to even allow something like this to even occur.”

While those details are still unclear, this much is clear: For Americans that don’t qualify for Medicaid, home care is expensive.

The need is so great, though, that some Americans forfeit assets to gain Medicaid eligibility.

The monthly costs for home care services rose to $5,720 in 2023, according to Genworth. That’s just an average, too. Care on an hourly basis costs $30 on average, but is as high as $50 in certain areas. Not to mention, many home care providers require a minimum-hour threshold, which forces families to empty their pockets or avoid paying for care entirely.

Rising billing rates aren’t all bad for private-pay home care providers in the near term. Higher billing rates mean more revenue. Long term, though, those higher rates will not just hurt home care-needy families. They could also hurt providers.

Griswold CEO Michael Slupecki explained this conundrum in 2022, referring to his company’s franchise owners.

“There are some folks that have reached their level of contentment with their income,” he said. “And I think sometimes they’ll go, ‘Look, it’s been an easier year for me. I can make my target income without working so hard. I love this.’ So, as an organization, we’ve got to try to keep pushing through that. Because while they could be doing better, they could be losing market share. And that’s not something we want to do in any market.”

With that in mind, some home care providers – like Arosa – have begun to adjust.

“We need new models in terms of how folks set aside or access funds to pay for care, new operational delivery models that may look different than the 1-1 attention that is the standard today, and new concepts that improve home care jobs so that we can attract, train, retain and treasure amazing teammates who are actually doing the all-important work with clients,” Medoff continued. “It is time for our industry to step up our game.”

New business models would be welcomed in an industry that typically follows a similar formula for private-pay clients. The wage for the caregiver is half the price, and the other half of the price goes to the provider.

For now, providers are starting to explore models that don’t require one-on-one attention, like Medoff mentioned. That helps save the client money, while also easing the staffing burden on providers. Adult day services are an example there.

Short-hour stays are another avenue providers are taking. While some providers still have minimum-hour thresholds, leaders concerned about limited home care access – and losing market share – have begun to usher in new concepts.

“At one point, you had to have at least eight or nine hours of care per week, or maybe even 20 hours per week,” Senior Helpers COO Mari Baxter said. “You had to have a minimum, and that minimum is no longer part of what we believe is the fair and the right thing to do. So we’re encouraging no minimum hours.”

It may take time for that model to become profitable, but Baxter believes it is worth the wait.

Plus, however long that’ll take, it’d likely take longer for Medicare to successfully implement the home care benefit.

Bayada Home Health Care’s Michael Johnson explained the problem with Medicare earlier this week while discussing movement – or lack thereof – on value-based home health care.

“Medicare is a behemoth; it’s hard for them to move quickly, and they’re so tied into physician and hospital payments,” Johnson, chief researcher of home care innovation at Bayada, told HHCN. “But with some smaller regional payers, we’ve had some luck doing value-based purchasing or value-based contracts with them.”

Plus, there needs to be enough home care providers to meet demand. When governments do not reimburse adequately in Medicaid, it stymies innovation and entry into the sector.

“Everything costs a whole bunch of money,” Village Caregiving CEO Jeff Stevens recently told me. “All of a sudden, what’s your profit? None? Maybe 5%? I don’t know. My suspicion is, at that point, some business owners out there would look at it, say a 5% margin, and just say, ‘Let’s just do real estate,’ or, ‘I could get that in the stock market.’”

Chipping in

The presidential candidates battling over home care is a good thing. Harris’ proposal is also a good thing, even if it’s never implemented, in my opinion. It’s an acknowledgement from the vice president that more people need access to home care.

Medicare moves slowly, though, and the upfront costs of the home care program would be significant. One could make a good argument that covering home care for seniors would result in cost savings long term, but it’s still a tough sell.

It’s also tough to expect all for-profit home care providers to put aside that profit for a moment and find ways to care for more people. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

And the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is already trying to improve HCBS through Medicaid via the Medicaid Access Rule.

Who should revolutionize home care, then? Medicare? Medicaid? The private sector?

The answer is a boring one: all of the above.

Home care providers know their business better than anyone, and most have the ability to tweak their business models and care for more people. In the end, it will be a shrewd choice to care for more people, and not fewer.

HCBS should be professionalized, and there should be more visibility into each state’s program. Providers should be measured on quality, if possible, but they also shouldn’t be squeezed on margins. If they are, less entrepreneurs and investors will enter the space.

And Medicare can chip in, too. Medicare doesn’t have to cover all home care services, but it could cover respite care for family caregivers. It could cover a certain amount of hours per month for beneficiaries.

There are ways for all parties to get involved in the revolution, and for the proposition of expanding home care access to be a win-win.

The post Private, Public Sectors Both Needed To Solve Home Care Access Crisis appeared first on Home Health Care News.

AI tackles huge problem of antimicrobial resistance in intensive care

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 18:44:11 +0000

Artificial intelligence (AI) can provide same-day assessments of antimicrobial resistance for patients in intensive care -- critical to preventing life-threatening sepsis.

New Huntington's treatment prevents protein aggregation

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 18:43:55 +0000

Patients with Huntington's disease have a genetic mutation that triggers proteins to misfold and clump together in the brain. These clumps interfere with cell function and eventually lead to cell death. The new treatment leverages peptide-brush polymers, which act as a shield to prevent proteins from binding to one another. In studies in mice, the treatment successfully rescued neurons to reverse symptoms.

Revolutionary high-speed 3D bioprinter hailed a game changer for drug discovery

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 16:38:41 +0000

Biomedical engineers have invented a 3D printing system, or bioprinter, capable of fabricating structures that closely mimic the diverse tissues in the human body, from soft brain tissue to harder materials like cartilage and bone.

Scientists discover key to preventing neurodegeneration in Parkinson's and related disorders

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 16:37:52 +0000

A team of researchers has uncovered a groundbreaking mechanism in the formation of harmful protein aggregates that lead to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's Disease. The team, led by Professor Norifumi Shioda and Associate Professor Yasushi Yabuki, identified for the first time that unique RNA structures called G-quadruplexes (G4s) play a central role in promoting the aggregation of alpha-synuclein, a protein associated with neurodegeneration. By demonstrating that inhibiting G4 assembly could potentially prevent the onset of synucleinopathies, this discovery positions G4 as a promising target for early intervention in these diseases.

Education, occupation, and wealth affect the risk of cognitive impairment

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 16:36:59 +0000

Socioeconomic factors such as education, occupation, and wealth influence the likelihood of developing cognitive impairment or dementia in later life and whether a person is likely to recover, finds a new study.

Closing in on Parkinson's Disease proteins in extracellular vesicles in the blood

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 16:36:52 +0000

Brain disorders like Parkinson's or Alzheimer's Disease start to develop in patients much earlier than when their first clinical symptoms appear. Treating patients at these early stages could slow or even stop their disease, but there is currently no way to diagnose brain disorders at those pre-symptomatic stages.

Researchers challenge longstanding theories in cellular reprogramming

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 16:36:41 +0000

A team led by researchers has discovered that a group of cells located in the skin and other areas of the body, called neural crest stem cells, are the source of reprogrammed neurons found by other researchers. Their findings refute the popular theory in cellular reprogramming that any developed cell can be induced to switch its identity to a completely unrelated cell type through the infusion of transcription factors.

Research shows therapeutic virtual yoga program can be effective for chronic low back pain

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 16:35:25 +0000

Researchers found that a 12-week therapeutic virtual yoga program for chronic low back pain can be a feasible, safe and effective treatment option.

Water fern gains more evidence as safe potential global food insecurity solution

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 16:35:20 +0000

Is the floating freshwater fern commonly called Carolina azolla the potential answer to global food insecurity or a possible threat to humanity? On the heels of a study published earlier this year on the plant's nutrition and digestibility, a team learned of concerns about the plant's potential toxin content. The researchers joined an international effort to test Azolla and found that it does not contain cyanotoxins, potent toxins produced by a type of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, associated with the plant.

Trump Wants Harris To Pay a Political Price for Generous Immigrant Health Policies

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Maria Sanchez immigrated to the Chicago area from Mexico about 30 years ago. Now 87, she’s still living in the U.S. without authorization. Like many longtime immigrants, she has worked — and paid taxes, including Medicare taxes — all that time.

But Sanchez never had health insurance, and when she turned 65, she couldn’t enroll in Medicare. She has never had preventive care or screenings. No physicals. No cholesterol checks. No mammograms.

“Nada, nada, nada,” she said in an interview conducted in Spanish. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

When she did get sick, she delayed seeking care until she was so ill that she was twice hospitalized with pneumonia. She finally got covered last year under a landmark Illinois program for older people without legal residency that took effect in December 2020.

Democratic-led states such as Illinois are increasingly opening public insurance programs to immigrants lacking permanent legal status. A dozen had already covered children; even more provided prenatal coverage. But now more states are covering adults living in the country without authorization — and some are phasing in coverage for seniors, who are more expensive and a harder political sell than kids.

The expansions recognize the costs that patients living here illegally can otherwise impose on hospitals. But the policies are under harsh attack from former President Donald Trump and other Republicans who seek to make his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, the face of reckless immigration policies.

Republicans point to Harris’ home state of California’s expansion of Medi-Cal coverage to immigrants of all ages regardless of legal status, saying it comes at the expense of American citizens.

It’s a regular complaint for Trump. “She’ll go around saying, ‘Oh, Trump is going to do bad things to Social Security,’” he said of Harris at a Sept. 13 news conference. “No, she’s going to do it because she’s putting these illegal immigrants onto Social Security, onto Medicare, and she’s going to destroy those programs, and the people are going to have to pay.”

Harris’ choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate has added fuel to Republican attacks at the intersection of immigration and health policy.

Under a law Walz signed, immigrants living without authorization in Minnesota will be able to gain health coverage starting next year through the state’s MinnesotaCare program for people with low incomes who aren’t eligible for Medicaid.

The issue is top of mind for some Americans. At an Oct. 10 town hall in Las Vegas, an audience member event host Univision identified as Ivett Castillo asked Harris what her administration would do about health care for people like her mother, who had immigrated from Mexico without authorization many years ago, worked her whole life, and died this year without ever receiving “the type of care and service that she needed or deserved.”

“What are your plans, or do you have plans, to support that subgroup of immigrants who have been here their whole lives, or most of them, and have to live and die in the shadows?” Castillo asked.

Harris noted her past support for a path to citizenship for unauthorized residents — and for a bipartisan border security bill that Senate Republicans killed earlier this year at the behest of Trump.

“This is one example of the fact that there are real people who are suffering because of an inability to put solutions in front of politics,” Harris said.

Even without such policies, immigrants can get free or inexpensive primary care at community clinics throughout the country — assuming they know it’s an option and feel safe at the facilities. But primary care can’t take care of all medical needs, particularly as people age and develop more complex health problems and chronic illnesses. So immigrants often rely on charity care, go into debt, or, like Sanchez, skimp. Some even return to their home countries for care.

Illinois, where Sanchez got covered, was a pioneer in extending insurance coverage to unauthorized migrants. Now, six states and the District of Columbia — all led by Democrats — cover at least some low-income older immigrants under Medicaid or Affordable Care Act waivers. Minnesota next year will become the seventh. State funds must be used for the expansions, as federal dollars generally can’t cover people lacking legal status.

Whether or how quickly more states follow remains to be seen, and if Trump wins the White House, his administration would likely try to thwart the trend, given that he has pledged mass deportations. Coverage for all immigrants is still a tough sell economically and politically — and the noncitizen population can’t vote its gratitude at the ballot box. Immigrant health initiatives in several other states have fizzled or been scaled back.

Maryland, for example, settled on opening its Obamacare exchange to people living in the state without authorization, starting in 2026 — but without taxpayer subsidies for their premiums.

Still, there’s enough activity in states to make advocates for immigrant health believe something has shifted. The pandemic’s severity and its uneven toll helped build support for covering older immigrants, said Lee Che Leong, the senior policy advocate at Northwest Health Law Advocates in Washington state.

“People are looking around and realizing that our health is interconnected, both globally and locally,” Leong said. “The pandemic really brought that home, that when you look at the disparities in who got covid, who was exposed to covid, and who died from covid.”

Access to U.S. health care has long been an obstacle for immigrants, even those in the country legally. People with green cards must wait five years for coverage under Medicaid or other government health programs. Some older green-card holders have to pay extra premiums for Medicare Part A — the portion that covers hospital care — if they haven’t been employed for at least 10 years in the U.S.

The new state health programs close those gaps, said Shelby Gonzales, vice president for immigration policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

In July, Washington state started covering low-income immigrants in a Medicaid-like program called Apple Health Expansion, using a federal waiver. Enrollment is capped and the program filled quickly, but some slots were reserved for people 65 and older, Leong said. Earlier this year, the state opened its Obamacare exchange to immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization.

Oregon and Colorado now also offer some coverage to people in their states who lack legal status, though the Colorado program didn’t attract many older immigrants, according to data recently presented to the state Affordable Care Act exchange oversight committee.

New York has covered child immigrants lacking legal residency for years, and the state’s Medicaid program was opened in January to all adult immigrants regardless of status. About 25,000 people signed up in the first four months, according to New York Medicaid Director Amir Bassiri.

Back in Illinois, Maria Sanchez said her new coverage has been life-changing — and possibly lifesaving. Her bouts of pneumonia were severe, partly because she had delayed care. After her second hospitalization, she needed follow-up cardiac care. The hospital didn’t charge her for her stay.

But now, with her “tarjeta medica” — her medical card — she can see a doctor. Her heart condition is under control. She has seen a dentist. She’s getting her cataracts removed.

“With my medical card, I have peace of mind,” Sanchez said.

Illinois has gradually added coverage for other age groups; in summer 2022, it lowered eligibility to age 42. That means immigrants like Gaby Piceno, 45, can age more healthily.

“I don’t have to worry anymore,” she said, referring not just to herself but to her family.

But the coverage expansion has cost more than Illinois projected. People like Sanchez and Piceno, already on the rolls, remain covered, but new enrollment was paused this year. More people signed up than expected, and many continued seeking care in more costly hospital emergency departments rather than at doctors’ offices, said the state’s acting insurance commissioner, Ann Gillespie, who was an Illinois state senator when the program was established.

The state is now shifting covered immigrants into Medicaid managed-care plans, hoping to bring down the cost over time.

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Trump quiere que Harris pague un precio político por ofrecer salud a inmigrantes sin papeles

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 09:00:00 +0000

María Sánchez emigró al área de Chicago desde México hace unos 30 años. Ahora, a sus 87, sigue viviendo en Estados Unidos sin papeles. Como muchos inmigrantes de larga data, ha trabajado —y pagado impuestos, incluyendo para Medicare— durante todo ese tiempo.

Pero Sánchez nunca tuvo seguro médico, y cuando cumplió 65, no pudo inscribirse en Medicare. Nunca ha tenido atención preventiva ni exámenes. No ha tenido chequeos físicos, ni mediciones de colesterol, ni mamografías.

“Nada, nada, nada”, dijo.

Cuando enfermaba, tardaba en buscar atención médica hasta que estaba tan mal que fue hospitalizada dos veces por neumonía. Finalmente, el año pasado obtuvo cobertura a través de un programa pionero en Illinois para personas mayores indocumentadas que entró en vigencia en diciembre de 2020.

Estados liderados por demócratas, como Illinois, están abriendo cada vez más programas de seguros públicos a inmigrantes sin papeles. Una docena ya cubría a niños; aún más proporcionaban cobertura prenatal. Pero ahora, están cubriendo a adultos que viven en el país sin autorización, y algunos están ampliando la cobertura para personas mayores, que son más costosos y representan un desafío político mayor que los niños.

Estas expansiones reconocen los costos que estos pacientes pueden imponer sobre los hospitales. Pero estas políticas están bajo dura crítica del ex presidente Donald Trump y otros republicanos, quienes buscan presentar a su oponente, la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris, como la cara de políticas de inmigración irresponsables.

Los republicanos señalan la expansión de la cobertura de Medi-Cal en el estado natal de Harris, California, a inmigrantes de todas las edades independientemente de su estatus legal, argumentando que esto afecta a los ciudadanos estadounidenses.

Es una queja frecuente de Trump. “Ella va por ahí diciendo, ‘Oh, Trump va a hacer cosas malas con la Seguridad Social’”, dijo sobre Harris en una conferencia de prensa el 13 de septiembre. “No, ella va a hacerlo porque está poniendo a estos inmigrantes ilegales en la Seguridad Social, en Medicare, y va a destruir esos programas, y la gente tendrá que pagar”.

La elección de Harris del gobernador de Minnesota, Tim Walz, como compañero de fórmula ha añadido combustible a los ataques republicanos en la intersección de la inmigración y la política de salud.

Con la esperanza de presentar a la candidata demócrata presidencial Kamala Harris como extrema en inmigración, el ex presidente Trump y sus partidarios han dicho que ella quería otorgar beneficios de salud gratuitos, pagados por los contribuyentes, a inmigrantes en el país sin permiso legal. Pero esta declaración omite detalles clave.

Bajo una ley firmada por Walz, los inmigrantes que viven sin documentos en Minnesota podrán obtener cobertura de salud a partir del próximo año a través del programa MinnesotaCare del estado para personas de bajos ingresos que no son elegibles para Medicaid.

El tema es de gran interés para algunos estadounidenses. En un foro en Las Vegas el 10 de octubre, una integrante del público identificada por Univision como Ivett Castillo le preguntó a Harris qué haría su administración respecto a la atención médica para personas como su madre, quien había emigrado de México sin autorización muchos años atrás, trabajado toda su vida ahasta su muerte este año sin haber recibido “el tipo de atención y servicio que necesitaba o merecía”.

“¿Cuáles son sus planes, o tienen planes, para apoyar a ese subgrupo de inmigrantes que han estado aquí toda su vida, o la mayoría de ellos, y tienen que vivir y morir en las sombras?”, preguntó Castillo.

Harris mencionó su apoyo anterior a un camino a la ciudadanía para residentes sin papeles, y a un proyecto de ley bipartidista de seguridad fronteriza que los republicanos del Senado bloquearon a principios de este año por insistencia de Trump.

“Este es un ejemplo de que hay personas reales que sufren debido a la incapacidad de anteponer soluciones a la política”, dijo Harris.

Incluso sin estas políticas, los inmigrantes pueden recibir atención primaria gratuita o económica en clínicas comunitarias en todo el país, asumiendo que saben que es una opción y se sienten seguros en las instalaciones.

Pero la atención primaria no puede cubrir todas las necesidades médicas, especialmente a medida que las personas envejecen y desarrollan problemas de salud y enfermedades crónicas más complejas. Así que los inmigrantes suelen depender de la atención caritativa, endeudarse o, como Sánchez, evadir al doctor. Algunos incluso regresan a sus países de origen para recibir atención.

Illinois, donde Sánchez obtuvo cobertura, fue pionero en la extensión de cobertura de seguros a migrantes no autorizados. Ahora, seis estados y el Distrito de Columbia —todos liderados por demócratas— cubren al menos a algunos inmigrantes mayores de bajos ingresos bajo Medicaid o exenciones de la Ley de Cuidado de Salud a Bajo Precio (ACA).

Minnesota se convertirá en el séptimo el próximo año. Para estas expansiones se utilizan fondos estatales, ya que los fondos federales generalmente no pueden cubrir a personas sin estatus legal.

Queda por ver si más estados seguirán esta tendencia y cuán rápido, y si Trump gana la Casa Blanca, es probable que su administración intente frenar esta tendencia, dado que ha prometido deportaciones masivas.

La cobertura para todos los inmigrantes sigue siendo una propuesta difícil tanto económica como políticamente, y la población no ciudadana no puede agradecer votando. Las iniciativas de salud para inmigrantes en varios otros estados han fracasado o se han reducido.

Maryland, por ejemplo, decidió abrir su mercado del Obamacare a personas que viven en el estado sin autorización a partir de 2026, pero sin subsidios de los contribuyentes para sus primas.

Aun así, hay suficiente actividad en los estados para que defensores de la salud de los inmigrantes crean que algo ha cambiado. La gravedad de la pandemia y su impacto desigual ayudaron a generar el apoyo para cubrir a inmigrantes mayores, dijo Lee Che Leong, defensora principal de políticas en Northwest Health Law Advocates en el estado de Washington.

“La gente está mirando a su alrededor y se da cuenta de que nuestra salud está interconectada, tanto global como localmente”, dijo Leong. “La pandemia realmente mostró eso, cuando miras las disparidades en quién se contagió de covid, quién estuvo expuesto a covid y quién murió por covid”.

Durante mucho tiempo, el acceso a la atención médica en el país ha sido un obstáculo para los inmigrantes, incluso aquellos que tienen papeles. Las personas con tarjetas de residencia deben esperar cinco años para obtener cobertura bajo Medicaid u otros programas de salud del gobierno. Algunos personas mayores con residencia tienen que pagar primas adicionales para Medicare Parte A —la parte que cubre la atención hospitalaria— si no han trabajado al menos 10 años en Estados Unidos.

Los nuevos programas de salud estatales cierran estas brechas, dijo Shelby Gonzales, vicepresidenta de política de inmigración en el Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

En julio, el estado de Washington comenzó a cubrir a inmigrantes de bajos ingresos en un programa similar a Medicaid llamado Apple Health Expansion, utilizando una exención federal.

La inscripción es limitada y el programa se llenó rápidamente, pero se reservaron algunos lugares para personas de 65 años o más, dijo Leong. A principios de este año, el estado abrió su mercado de Obamacare a inmigrantes que viven en los EE. UU. sin autorización.

Oregon y Colorado ahora también ofrecen alguna cobertura a personas en sus estados que carecen de estatus legal, aunque el programa de Colorado no atrajo a muchos inmigrantes mayores, según datos presentados hace poco al comité de supervisión del mercado de ACA.

Nueva York ha cubierto a niños inmigrantes sin documentos durante años, y el programa de Medicaid del estado se abrió en enero para todos los inmigrantes adultos independientemente de su estatus. Aproximadamente 25,000 personas se inscribieron en los primeros cuatro meses, según el director de Medicaid de Nueva York, Amir Bassiri.

De vuelta en Illinois, María Sánchez dijo que su nueva cobertura ha cambiado su vida, y posiblemente le ha salvado la vida. Sus episodios de neumonía fueron graves, en parte porque retrasó la atención. Después de su segunda hospitalización, necesitó atención cardíaca de seguimiento. El hospital no le cobró por su estadía.

Pero ahora, con su “tarjeta médica”, puede ver a un médico. Su condición cardíaca está bajo control. Ha visto a un dentista. Va a tener una operación de cataratas. “Con mi tarjeta médica, tengo paz mental”, dijo Sánchez.

llinois ha agregado gradualmente cobertura para otros grupos de edad; en el verano de 2022, redujo la elegibilidad a los 42 años. Eso significa que inmigrantes como Gaby Piceno, de 45, pueden envejecer de manera más saludable.

“Ya no tengo que preocuparme”, dijo, refiriéndose no solo a sí misma, sino a su familia.

Pero la expansión de la cobertura ha costado más de lo proyectado en Illinois. Personas como Sánchez y Piceno, ya inscritas, siguen cubiertas, pero este año se frenó la nueva inscripción. Se inscribieron más personas de lo esperado, y muchas continuaron buscando atención en salas de emergencia de hospitales más costosos en lugar de en consultorios médicos, dijo la comisionada interina de seguros del estado, Ann Gillespie, quien era senadora estatal en Illinois cuando se estableció el programa.

El estado ahora está transfiriendo a los inmigrantes cubiertos a planes de atención administrada de Medicaid, con la esperanza de reducir el costo con el tiempo.

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Behavioral Therapy For Insomnia May Lower Risk Of Postpartum Depression: Study

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 08:32:31 +0000

The study revealed that getting cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTi) may serve as a protective factor against postpartum depression.

Less Sugar In First 1000 Days Of Life Slashes Diabetes, Hypertension Risk: Study

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 06:07:04 +0000

The study revealed that limiting sugar intake during early life could cut the diabetes risk by 35% and the risk of hypertension by 20%.

Restricting sugar consumption in utero and in early childhood significantly reduces risk of midlife chronic disease

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 22:53:20 +0000

Children who experienced sugar restrictions during their first 1,000 days after conception had up to 35% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes and as much as 20% less risk of hypertension as adults. The researchers used contemporary data from the U.K. Biobank, a database of medical histories and genetic, lifestyle and other disease risk factors, to study the effect of those early-life sugar restrictions on health outcomes of adults conceived in the U.K. just before and after the end of wartime sugar rationing.

How Bayada Plans To Overcome Home Health Care’s Long-Lasting Challenges

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:55:11 +0000

This article is a part of your HHCN+ Membership

Home health care has some hardwired challenges. But there are also other challenges that can be overcome, that can be largely erased in the future.

Artificial intelligence’s capabilities, for example, are cause for hope. The same goes for value-based care opportunities.

Unlocking those opportunities is going to take time, effort and focus. Home Health Care News recently sat down with Michael Johnson, the chief researcher for home care innovation at Bayada Home Health Care, to chat about that – and much more.

The conversation is below, edited for length and clarity.

HHCN: What technological advancements do you think will significantly impact home health care in the next decade?

Johnson: AI, bots – anything that helps aggregate and collect data.

There’s so much documentation to justify payments. We spend more time looking at our devices than we do looking in the eyes of our patients. I challenged my team to find technology that lets people spend more time with the patient.

We will create a better client experience, which will satisfy clinicians. If we can get AI to help us decrease the time it takes to get data into the chart and organize it, we can achieve at least two portions of the quadruple aim: better care, lower cost, better patient experience and better clinician experience.

With the shift toward home-based care, how do you envision the role of nurses and home health aides evolving in the coming years?

Studies that talk about the shortage of home health aides, for example, worry me because there’s an opportunity to leverage folks whose education is less than others.

Good home health aides are worth their weight in gold because they know how to get patients to do something they don’t want to do. It’s super important. I would rest on ‘I’m the expert, you must,’ and the patient would say yes and not do it when I left. Home health aides make sure it gets done.

Registered nurses (RNs) do many things that others with less – but adequate – training could do for a lower cost. If every patient we see were the same, we’d need the same level of clinical care. But they’re not.

Let’s think about how we can distribute the workload and ramp up people’s skill sets.

How do you think value-based care models will influence the delivery of home health services?

Suppose we demonstrate that we can save the system money through value-based purchasing. Let’s get some shared savings from that, and then we can pay home health aides a living wage. All of a sudden, you can easily find staff, you’re not dealing with staffing shortages. They’re wholly underpaid for their value, but the system doesn’t and isn’t set up to leverage that value.

Why wait for someone to go to the hospital before they get home health care? Why don’t we identify them early on and reduce hospitalizations, not readmissions? The system doesn’t value that by virtue of how it gets paid.

Medicare is a behemoth; it’s hard for them to move quickly, and they’re so tied into physician and hospital payments. But with some smaller regional payers, we’ve had some luck doing value-based purchasing or value-based contracts with them.

It’s a significant initiative for us, with every single payer, to renegotiate contracts and, wherever possible, insert something more value-based per visit. I think there will be continuing, slow, incremental progress.

In what ways do you believe cultural competency training can benefit home health care organizations and their staff?

When I think about cultural competency, I think about recognizing people for who they are. Treating each other with dignity and respect.

In home care, we’re pretty white; we’re pretty middle class. We’re pretty female. How do we recognize that and make some concerted efforts to increase diversity? With diversity of gender, diversity of race and diversity of thought come better ideas and better solutions. That, to me, is the most significant value.

We’re making every effort to ensure a diverse workforce – that’s job number one. There are some fundamental ways that we should treat each other as human beings, irrespective of race, color or gender. Call it emotional intelligence.

One of the key actions I like under our core value of compassion is working with a spirit of universal faith, hope and love. When I first read it, the word ‘love’ gave me pause. I questioned if we were supposed to use that word. But let’s not be afraid to say that and let’s show love in different ways because that is what demonstrates dignity and respect for one person or the other, irrespective of how similar or how different you are.

Do you think cultural competence does anything to alleviate patient worries or anxieties over having home care?

People feel more comfortable, at least initially, with somebody like them caring for them. It puts people at ease more quickly. The patients need to see themselves in the caregiver. From a patient’s perspective, if you can reduce their anxiety, there are benefits to their healing that are hard to measure.

The post How Bayada Plans To Overcome Home Health Care’s Long-Lasting Challenges appeared first on Home Health Care News.

HCBS Waiting Lists Remain ‘An Incomplete Picture Of Need’

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:52:52 +0000

The number of states with waiting lists for people in need of home- and community-based services (HCBS) hasn’t seen much variation between 2016 and 2024, according to a new data analysis from the KFF.

In fact, there have been about 700,000 people on waiting lists, or interest lists, in most years since 2016.

Total enrollment in waiting lists went up by 2.6% between 2023 and 2024. Currently, there are more than 710,000 people on waiting lists.

When looking at individual states, 14 saw a decrease in the number of people on waiting lists, and 19 saw an increase.

KFF’s analysis noted that some of these changes can be explained by some states not screening for Medicaid eligibility before putting people on these lists.

“Changes in this policy may result in changes in waiting list volumes,” KFF wrote. “For example, between 2018 and 2020, the total number of people on waiting lists decreased by 155,000 or 19%. However, nearly half of that change came from Ohio’s implementation of a waiting list assessment of waiver eligibility, which reduced the size of the state’s waiting list by nearly 70,000 people.”

Since 2016, more than half of people on waiting lists were based in states that don’t screen for eligibility.

“One reason waiting lists provide an incomplete picture of need is that not all people on waiting lists will be eligible for services,” KFF wrote. “Interviews about HCBS waiting lists found that when waiver services are provided on a first-come, first-served basis, people enrolled in waiting lists are in anticipation of future need.”

KFF’s analysis also offered insight into the people on these waiting lists.

People living with intellectual or developmental disabilities made up 89% of waiting lists in states that didn’t screen for eligibility, and 49% in states that don’t screen prior to putting someone on the list.

Additionally, seniors and adults with physical disabilities made up 24% of waiting lists.

In terms of average wait time, people on the wait lists typically accessed services after about 40 months. This is a decrease from 45 months in 2021, but an increase from 36 months in 2023.

As federal funding for HCBS from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) begins to dry up, it might become more challenging to address waiting lists, according to KFF.

“ARPA funding to reduce or eliminate waiting lists and that continuing those reductions are a top priority,” KFF wrote. “However, it is uncertain how many ARPA initiatives will be sustainable in the long run as the additional federal funds are exhausted.”

Additional ARPA funding is set to end in most states by March 2025.

However, the way that states handle waiting lists could soon change thanks to federal policy.

The “Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services” rule pushes for greater transparency and reporting from state agencies regarding waiting lists.

“The fact that CMS is requiring some more uniform national reporting around what happens in states that have these waiting lists is a huge benefit to individuals, providers and policymakers who are trying to improve the system,” Damon Terzaghi, senior director of medicaid advocacy at the National Alliance for Care at Home, previously told Home Health Care News. “CMS is really asking — how many people are on these waiting lists, and how long they are waiting between when they get placed on the list, and when they actually receive services. That’s a huge step forward.”

The post HCBS Waiting Lists Remain ‘An Incomplete Picture Of Need’ appeared first on Home Health Care News.

Best Red and Infrared Light Therapy Devices for Enhanced Health and Wellness

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:35:07 +0000

Red and infrared light therapy devices offer a plethora of benefits for those seeking to enhance their health and well-being. From promoting wound healing to improving skin health and alleviating pain, these innovative tools are paving the way for a holistic approach to health.

Best Electric Toothbrushes for Superior Cleaning and Personalized Dental Care

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:33:47 +0000

Electric toothbrushes offer superior cleaning with features like multiple brushing modes, built-in timers, and pressure sensors. They provide personalized care through smart technology and are ideal for sensitive teeth. With oscillating movements, replaceable heads, and long battery life, they make professional-level dental care accessible at home.

Study demonstrates efficacy of iron supplements for children living with HIV

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:19:01 +0000

A research team has found that giving iron supplements to children living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in sub-Saharan Africa could be an important first step in optimizing brain development.

Study shows no difference between two common methods for saving lives during cardiac arrest

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:18:58 +0000

Research shows a one-third chance of restoring blood circulation during cardiac arrest, regardless of whether the medication is administered into the bloodstream or bone marrow.

Study links methylmalonic acid to weakening of immune cells in lung cancer

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:18:56 +0000

A new study has found a surprising link between high levels of methylmalonic acid and the weakening of CD8+ T cells, shedding light on potential pathways through which aging may promote lung cancer progression.

MRSA's double defense against antibiotics

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:18:46 +0000

Scientists have discovered the mechanism which allows the superbug Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to become highly resistant to antibiotics, paving the way for new approaches to control infectious disease.

First blueprint of the human spliceosome revealed

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:18:43 +0000

Researchers have created the first blueprint of the human spliceosome, the most complex and intricate molecular machine in human biology. The vast majority of human genes -- more than nine in ten -- are edited by the spliceosome. The sheer number of components involved has meant the scientific feat took more than a decade to complete. The research reveals many new drug targets that could benefit a wide spectrum of diseases including most types of cancer, neurodegenerative conditions and genetic disorders.

The harmful frequency and reach of unhealthy foods on social media

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:18:41 +0000

An analysis of social media posts that mention food and beverage products finds that fast food restaurants and sugar sweetened beverages are the most common, with millions of posts reaching billions of users over the course of a year. The study highlights the sheer volume of content normalizing unhealthy eating, and argues that policies are needed to protect young people in the digital food environment.

Autistic traits shape how we explore

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:18:37 +0000

People with stronger autistic trails showed distinct exploration patterns and higher levels of persistence in a computer game, ultimately resulting in better performance than people with lower scores of autistic traits, according to a new study.

Researchers solve medical mystery of neurological symptoms in kids

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:17:22 +0000

A team of doctors and scientists have identified the cause of a rare disorder involving intellectual disability and brain malformations. The team found a link between the child's neurological symptoms and a genetic change that affects how proteins are properly folded within cells, providing the parents with a molecular diagnosis and identifying an entirely new type of genetic disorder.

Finding a missing piece for neurodegenerative disease research

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:17:20 +0000

Research has provided compelling evidence that could solve a fundamental mystery in the makeup of fibrils that play a role in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

First pediatric guideline on opioid prescribing in primary care focuses on preventing overdose

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:17:15 +0000

With its emphasis on opioid overdose prevention, the first guideline for primary care providers from the American Academy of Pediatrics on prescribing opioids for acute pain in children and adolescents extends beyond responsible pain management.

Sleeping for 2: Insomnia therapy reduces postpartum depression, study shows

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:17:13 +0000

CBT for insomnia significantly reduces postpartum depression symptoms, directly and indirectly, by improving mood and alleviating insomnia throughout treatment.