The Smoke and Mirrors of Overall health Care Reform for the Elderly

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The Smoke and Mirrors of Overall health Care Reform for the Elderly

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I’m deeply concerned that the American public, in particular our nation’s elders, will be relying on our government to provide extended term care solutions they will in no way see. They’ll only see the “smoke and mirrors” of Overall health Care Reform.

Our nation’s seniors are the most vulnerable segment of the U.S. population vulnerable each overall health smart and financially. They are silently discovering the savings they thought would be sufficient is not sufficient. They are silently fearful of operating out of cash with no 1 to care for them as they turn out to be more frail. The silence is about to turn out to be deafening.

Regrettably, when Health Care Reform proudly announced New Long Term Care Services, it discouraged several American’s from acquiring Extended Term Care Insurance.

The New York Occasions reported on ‘Options Expand for Very affordable Lengthy-Term Care’ THE NEW OLD AGE. The Connected Press announced ‘New Well being Care Law Has Positive aspects for Seniors’. Point getting, the casual reader was relieved to hear their government will “take care of them” when they want lengthy term care services. We now know that is not about to take place.

Thankfully our representatives in Washington discovered that Overall health Care Reforms answer to the problem of Lengthy Term Care, “CLASS”, (Neighborhood Living Assistance Solutions and Supports Act) legislation would have been fiscally unsound. $70 billion in premiums that was expected to be raised for the new “lengthy term care” program would have been counted as “deficit reduction”. The extended term care benefits it was intended to finance had been assumed not to materialize in the first 10 years. On the other hand, that dollars was not accounted for anywhere in the legislation.

The new legislation proposed to “trim” $463 billion from Medicare. Yet Medicare is at the moment obtaining trouble balancing its books currently. Yet, why does the wellness care bill inform us Medicare can operate a lot more cheaply going forward with out the accompanying reforms?

Our national media gave enormous fanfare to the CLASS ACT when it passed. Unfortunately the media has given the CLASS ACT’s demise tiny consideration. Now what?

Projections show that the federal deficit is anticipated to exceed $700 billion annually more than the next decade. This basically will double the national and $900 billion represents interest on previous debt. Would the CFO of any main corporation in the United States allow the firm he worked for to end up in this variety of financial position? Totally not.

Our officials in Congress have been elected to safeguard the most effective interests of the American men and women. “Robbing Peter to spend Paul”, and after once more printing far more currency, has grow to be our government’s mantra for the future. Yet the magnitude of the mismanagement of America’s purse strings has now reached an unconscionable state.

The United States of America cannot continue to mismanage its financial future. Future Congresses will have to provide a multitude of future reforms and, regrettably, history tells us THAT will in no way come about. Proposals for financing health reform had been based on additional “smoke and mirrors”. The “Cadillac” tax is scheduled to begin in 2018.

The overall health care legislation that has been forced on each and every and every 1 of us is identified to be fiscally unsound. Exactly where do we go from here? It is as well straightforward to point the finger at the President and his administration. However Congress owns the responsibility of passing Health Care Legislation. And THAT is the dilemma.

The 535 voting members of Congress shared the responsibility equally. If one particular clear considering, intelligent, honorable Congressman had the whole responsibility for Overall health Care Reform, he or she would not have forced a fiscally unsound Well being Care Reform Bill down our throats.

Now let’s once more evaluate how Well being Care Reform will work against our senior citizens.

A most recent government report identified that in 2000 there had been 1.eight million out there nursing property beds. As the year 2010 came to a close, there have been 1.7 million nursing household beds a net five % reduction in accessible beds. And, there are no new nursing houses getting constructed.

Today there is less than 1.5 million Americans confined to nursing houses. Reportedly ten percent of these nursing properties are operating below bankruptcy protection. It’s properly identified that most of these facilities are understaffed and a lot of never have competent aid.

Next, let’s take into account that the Alzheimer’s Association tells us the likelihood of building Alzheimer’s after age 85 is 50 percent. By 2030, they inform us that the quantity of people today age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s illness is estimated to reach 7.7 million, a 50 % increase from the five.two million age 65 and older at present impacted.

The logical question I will have to ask is “if we cannot take sufficient care of 1.five million persons nowadays, how can we possibly take care of 7.7 million persons in 2030?” We cannot. A lot more merely put, when you or your spouse or your parent has Alzheimer’s, there is no spot for them to go. Not to be domiciliary care provider , but if you ever think for a moment about taking in an aged parent with Alzheimer’s into your household, please consider again. Ask any caregiver who’s been via it. It’s Guaranteed to destroy any families’ peace of thoughts and harmony.

Why aren’t our political leaders actively functioning on solutions? Where’s the outcry? Regrettably our political leaders only align themselves with solvable challenges.

America’s seniors became a lot more hopeful reading that Wellness Reform will aid them with added Long Term Care services. And we now know THAT is not going to occur. There are no plans in spot to support our nation’s seniors feel they’ll acquire the comfort and dignity of sufficient long term care solutions. What’s worse is the silence shared by all our political leaders. The silence is now deafening.