Tightening Medicaid could cut off the lives of millions of people

Tightening Medicaid could cut off the lives of millions of people The Medicaid program is more likely to make people think of poor families, but this program...

The Medicaid program is more likely to make people think of poor families, but this program also has an important function: it is the only safety net for millions of middle-class elderly people who need long-term care at home or in nursing homes, helping them to continue to hold on when their financial resources are about to run out. The New York Times pointed out on the 7th that in the presidential election year, although Medicare reform has received attention, the elderly and their families may be more concerned about future changes in Medicaid. The report pointed out that because baby boomers and their parents are living longer and longer, few families can pay for medical expenses entirely from their own financial resources. Therefore, the Medicaid reform proposals that have been made and will be put forward will have a significant impact on them. Although former President Clinton overstated Medicaid’s spending on nursing home residents in his speech at the Democratic National Convention on the 5th (accounting for less than one-third of Medicaid’s total spending, not nearly two-thirds as he said), Medicaid’s spending on each elderly person who needs long-term care is indeed five times what it spends on the medical needs of each poor child, and the amount spent on disabled elderly people who need long-term care is even higher. Rena Lehr, a 92-year-old retired female teacher who suffers from dementia in Cooperstown, New York, used her last remaining life savings to pay for nursing home care of 250 yuan a day last year, and like about 1.8 million nursing home residents, she relies on Medicaid subsidies for most of her expenses. If Republicans implement their proposed Medicaid reform and instead provide a large one-time payment, her health care prospects will be unpredictable. Republican proposals also include asking states to change minimum eligibility requirements for Medicaid, standards of medical care, and federal regulations (current regulations do not allow children of Medicaid recipients to recover their parents’ Medicaid costs). Mrs. Leer's 66-year-old daughter is also a retired teacher and currently has savings, but she is not sure that she will be able to rely on Medicaid for assistance when she gets older in the future.