Medicaid and People with Dementia
The Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured released an issue brief on Medicaid’s Role for People with Dementia. Consider this:
Almost one-half (46%) of nursing facility residents and about one in five (21%) seniors living in the community has probable or possible dementia, a syndrome characterized by a chronic, progressive decline in memory and other cognitive functions, such as communication and judgment. People with dementia often have complex medical and behavioral health needs, and many rely on family caregivers to provide assistance with self-care and other daily activities. As dementia advances, paid care may be needed. Most people with dementia have Medicare, but due to high out-of-pocket costs and lack of long-term services and supports (LTSS) coverage, low-income people with disabilities resulting from dementia may need Medicaid to fill in the coverage gaps. Medicaid plays an important role in providing LTSS and is increasingly focused on efforts to help seniors and people with disabilities remain in the community rather than reside in institutions.
Given the expected growth of the elderly population over the coming decades and barring medical breakthroughs, a larger share of Americans likely will have dementia, which has implications for Medicaid coverage, delivery system design, financing, and quality monitoring. This fact sheet describes Medicaid’s role for people with dementia who live in the community, highlighting common eligibility pathways, beneficiary characteristics, covered services, health care spending and utilization, and key policy issues.
The issue brief discusses several issues and then concludes:
Improving medical care and LTSS for people with dementia is likely to remain a major public health issue as well as the focus of ongoing medical research in the coming decades as policymakers, families, and other stakeholders consider cost-effective options to meet the needs of this vulnerable and expanding population. Medicaid beneficiaries with dementia have fewer financial resources to contribute toward the cost of care and are significantly more likely to use home-based services than people without Medicaid. People with dementia will likely need paid care as their functioning declines, and in the absence of other viable public or private financing options, Medicaid will continue to be the nation’s primary payer for LTSS.
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By Rebecca C. Morgan Stetson Law Share