Cathy Cress

Expert in Aging Life and Geriatric Care Management

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Republicans Hate the Care Economy in New Debt Reconciliation Bill

May 31, 2023

 

PATRIOTIC BADGE

Republicans hate the care economy so Joe Manchin, blocked the care economy bill  last year

Republicans hate the care economy. Joe Manchin blocked the Care Infrastructure Bill last year without clearly saying what he wanted, butting heads through press releases and conferences last night. Calling the bill welfare society legislation, Manchin was saying actually, no new programs like Medicare covering dental, vision, and hearing for seniors, which has left seniors below the top 10%  deaf, blind with rotting teeth, and women without free childcare, leaving working women paying 1/3 of their income in childcare to go to maintain a job.

If Debt Ceiling Bill Passes Medicaid Cuts for no Employment -from Hating Care Economy

Republicans hate the care economy today. If the new Debt ceiling bill passes, Medicaid recipients will just have no vision and dental, but no Medicaid at all -if they do not work while sick or disabled.

Republicans hate the care economy. The House debt-ceiling bill cuts would put more than 10 million people at significant risk of losing health coverage by instituting a failed policy that takes federal Medicaid coverage away from people who cannot prove they meet a work-reporting requirement or qualify for an exemption. When implemented in Arkansas in 2018, 1 in 4 people subject to the policy lost coverage in just seven months, while there was no increase in employment.

When Medicaid is Cut, so is the In-Home Supportive Services Program Part of the Hated Care Economy

In-Home, Supportive Services are part of the Medicaid and care economy. So under Republican make cuts, with the new debt ceiling bill when recipients of Medicaid who are considered disabled- will be denied Medicaid if they cannot work, and they will lose their care providers – the real care economy The In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program is a statewide program in California called the Medi-Cal program. It provides long-term services and supports for California residents who are aged, blind, or disabled and are at risk of nursing home placement. Available benefits include personal care assistance and homemaker services to assist these individuals in living safely and independently in their home or the home of a loved one. Program participants can self-direct their care, allowing them to choose and hire their own caregivers, including friends and relatives.

Within IHSS, there are 4 programs, the first two of which serve the majority of IHSS program beneficiaries.

If You are a Geriatric Care Manager

Many of you must deal with only the 10%, as Medicare does not cover care management. But you need to see the whole picture of the care economy. Low-income seniors on Medicaid are as important as concierge seniors and should not be dumped from Medicaid because they cannot work while experiencing all the disabilities of aging. Plus, you should not risk your own business income that will lose in spades when the new debt reconciliation bill, like your ceiling, crumbles, and cracks and cascades down through your life, severing seniors’ social security and threatening your own care management agency. So contact your congressman or woman and tell them to vote for the debt ceiling bill Common Cause has this easy way to find and contact your congressman 

If You Are a Woman Work In Aging or a Democrat, Call Your Congressman

Care Infrastructure and deb ceiling failure, and financial catastrophe may be upon us if folks in health care, older constituents, and democrats of all ages do need to contact their congressman immediately and tell them to support this bill. They control the votes for the bill, and you must let them know you will only vote for them if they do. Common Cause has this easy way to find and contact your congressman. Tell them to vote for the debt ceiling bill and why.If you believe in Medicare, Medicaid recipients have the right to keep benefits without working, and for us all to go off the cliff – with the Debt Ceiling breach- social security checks not paid, our credit rate to skyrocket, the bond market to fall- what you pay for everything to soar- catastrophe all around – call not write your Congressman. 

Interested in starting a care management business or adding one to your business  to help seniors? Contact  Cathy Cress MSW

 

Filed Under: Aging, Aging Life Care, Aging Life Care Assocaition, aging life care manager, Bernie Sanders, Bernie Sanfers, Biden Infrastructure Bill Passing, Biden's Caregiver Bill, Biden's Caregiver Bill Trouble, Biden's Caregiver Infastucure Paln, Biden's VA Infrastructure Bill, Black Entrepreneur, Black Entrepreneur RB, Black Entrepreneur RN, Black Geriatric Care Manager, Black RN, Black Travel RN, Blog, Care Infastructure, Care Infrastructure, Care Infrastructure cut out, caregiver, caregiver infrastructure, Caregiver Infrastructure bill, Caregiver living wage, Caregiver low salary, End of Life, Families, Geriatric Care Management Business, Geriatric Care Manager, geriatric social worker, hearing Medicare coverage, Infrastructure Bill, Joe Manchin, Medicaid caregiver, Medicaid Caregivers, Medicare, Medicare Expansion, Medicare For All, nurse advocate, nurse care manager Tagged With: aging life or geriatric care management, ALCA, Biden's Infrastructure Bill, Biden's infrastructure- Caregiver Bill, Blocked Care Infrastructure bill, Call Your Congressman, Care Economy, Care infrastructure, care management, care provider stress, Congress&Infrastructure Bill, geriatric care infrastructure, infrastructure Medicare jobs, Nancy Pelosi

Build Back Better Bill Dead? What is Lost?

January 19, 2022

Sen Manchin Probably Killed the BBB Bill-

As the Voting Rights Bill is probably going to be killed by Senator Sinema & Manchin, Machin is also responsible for the probable death of the Build Back Better Bill.

IN December Senator Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia and the crucial holdout vote on Build Back Better Bill announced, “I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation… I’ve tried everything humanly possible; I can’t get there.” Whether this is a death knell for the president’s legislative agenda or just a serious setback is still to be litigated.

President Biden had been in negotiations with Manchin, who has withheld his support for the bill, making him a key vote in the evenly divided chamber. Biden said Manchin has reiterated his support for the overall cost of the bill. He said negotiations are continuing but more time is needed. 

Though Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has vowed to bring the Build Back Better bill up for this month, it is all but doomed. Even so, Democrats hope to revive it in some form that could win support from every member of their Senate caucus.

What Do Seniors Lose

A senior suffering from deafness without hearing aide

 

Hearing Aids for Seniors Gone

Medicare currently does not cover hearing, dental, or vision as it once did but the Build Back Better plan addresses costs for hearing. Changes would not begin until 2023, but it would allow for coverage of hearing aids — an expense that can range drastically, from       $1,000 to a few thousand dollars.

Negotiating Drug Prices Gone

Prescription Drug Prices Not Negotiated By US

The Build Back Better Bill would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices for medications available at a pharmacy or doctor’s office. The current process for determining drug prices varies for the type of medication and how long they have been on the market. This bill offers a few changes, such as imposing a penalty fee for drug companies that raise their prices faster than inflation and laying out the framework for price negotiations.

Lost -Changes in Home- and Community-Based Care.

The spending bill earmarked $150 billion for in-home and community services through Medicaid over the next decade.  The BBB bill contains additional funding for a Medicaid program that provides home- and community-based care services for eligible elderly Americans and people with disabilities. According to Kaiser Family Foundation estimates, there are more than 800,000 people on Medicaid waiting lists for these services across the country. 

Americans don’t always consider home and community-based care or long-term care when making their retirement plans, but they should. Already, a 65-year-old couple retiring could expect to pay $300,000 in retirement for healthcare alone, but that doesn’t include the cost of a homecare aide or nursing home which could amount to thousands of more dollars every month.

If Aging is Your Field Call Your Representative Now

To find your local representative and tell them to support Biden’s bill if you care about aging or caregivers or women or shoring up the frayed- fraught care infrastructure. I have done a series of blogs on the bill. Check them out now 

 

Filed Under: aging life care manager, Biden's Caregiver Bill, Biden's Caregiver Bill Trouble, Biden's Caregiver Infastucure Paln, Biden's new Affordable Drug Bill, Biden’ social and environmental infrastructure package, Big Pharma, Black Entrepreneur, Black Entrepreneur RB, Black Entrepreneur RN, Black entrepreneurs, Black Geriatric Care Manager, Black RN, Black Travel Nurses, Blog, Build Back Better Bill, Care Infastructure, Care Infrastructure cut out, Care Infrastructure Hearing, caregiver infrastructure, Caregiver Infrastructure bill, case manager, Community and Home Care, Geriatric Care Management Business, geriatric care manager start up, hearing aides seniors, Hearing Coverage Medicare, Joe Manchin, Medicaid, Medicaid caregiver, Medicare, Medicare dental vision hearing coverage, Medicare Expansion, Medicare Hearing Coverage, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, pharmaceutical industry Tagged With: aging family, aging life and geraitric care manager, aging life care manager, aging parent care, Biden Build Back Better Bill, Biden Build Back Better Bill Dying, care manager, case manager, geriatric care manager, Hearing Coverage Lost, Hearing Coverage Medicare, Home and Community Based Care, Home and Community Based Care Lost, Mansion Blocking Build Back Better, Negotiating Drug Prices, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, Sinema Blocking Build Back Better, soaring drug prices, Unaffordable drug prices

Biden’s Care Infrastructure Passed House -Wins & Losses 4 Seniors???

November 23, 2021

 

Biden’s Care Infrastructure Passed The House

Biden’s 1 Trillion $ Care Infrastructure Passed the House through the brilliant work of speaker Nancy Pelosi which was a great boost for deadly climate change, Child Tax Credits,paid parental leave and so much more. For seniors, the good news is it covers 

  • New hearing benefits for Medicare beneficiaries, including coverage for a new hearing aid every five years.
  • A $35-per-month limit on the cost of insulin under Medicare and a cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $2,000
    $1.2 billion in new spending for critical
    programs and services under the Older Americans Act (OAA).
     
  • Dental & Vision Coverages Dropped But Sanders Tries to Save

    The Care Infrastructure Bill passed but it dropped expanding dental and vision benefits after centrists called for paring down the overall cost of the package, which originally was proposed for $3.5 trillion.

    The framework  of the Care Infrastructure Bill also doesn’t include legislation to give Medicare the power to negotiate for lower drug prices, but senators say that it would eliminate a rule that gets rid of the safe harbor for Part D drug rebates.

    Senator Bernie Sanders is trying to work vision and dental back into the Care Infrastructure  bill and is outraged that both were dropped. 2-5 voters want dental and vision back in the bill

     

    • Across political parties, 
    • Across political parties, voters’ top priority for the bill is adding dental and vision benefits to Medicare, which was cut from the White House’s latest framework after intense pushback from dental groups and amid concerns about the price tag. Still, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) indicated he is trying to work Medicare coverage for dental and vision services back into the final bill
    • If You Are In Aging Call Your Congressman

    Care Infrastructure Bill may not pass it’s next big hurdle , the Senate if folks in health care and older constituents do not contact their congressman or woman and tell them to support this bill. Your Congresswoman or man controls the votes for the bill and you have to let them know you will only vote for them if they do. Common Cause has this easy way to find and contact your congressman  If you believe in Medicare and senior’s right to to not have their teeth rot, not hear their grandkids or be unable to read a book-  so please  email, pick up the phone now.

Filed Under: Aging, Aging Life Care, aging life care manager, Bernie Sanfers, Biden Infrastructure Bill Passing, Biden's Care Infrastructure Bill, Biden's Caregiver Bill, Biden's Caregiver Infastucure Paln, Biden's VA Infrastructure Bill, Biden’ social and environmental infrastructure package, Black Aging Family, Black Entrepreneur, Black Entrepreneur RB, Black Entrepreneur RN, Black entrepreneurs, Black Geriatric Care Manager, Black geriatric care managers, Black RN, Black Travel Nurses, Black Travel RN, Blog, care economy, Care Infastructure, Care Infrastructure, Care Infrastructure Dental, Care Infrastructure Hearing, Care infrastucture Vision, caregiver, caregiver infrastructure, Caregiver Infrastructure bill, Caregiver living wage, Caregiver low salary, case manager, Dental, Dental Coverage Medicare, Families, Geriatric Care Management Business, Geriatric Care Manager, geriatric social worker, Hearing Coverage Medicare, Infrastructure Bill, Medicaid caregiver, Medicaid Caregivers, Medicare, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, Vision Coverage Medicare Tagged With: aging family, aging life care manager, aging life or geriatric care management, aging parent care, aging parent crisis, ALCA, Biden's Infrastructure Bill, Biden's infrastructure- Caregiver Bill, Call Your Congressman, Care Economy, Care infrastructure, Care infrastrucure Bill Passed, care management, care manager, care provider stress, case manager, Congress&Infrastructure Bill, Dental Coverage Medicare, geriatric care infrastructure, geriatric care manager, Hearing Coverage Medicare, infrastructure Medicare jobs, limit on cost insulin, Nancy Pelosi, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, Vision Coverage Medicare

FDA Proposal Would Allow Millions of Consumers to Buy Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids in Stores or Online

October 25, 2021

FDA to Allow Buying Hearing Aides over the Counter- But Free Hearing Benefits on Chopping Block in Care  Infrastructure Bill

 

A long-awaited Food and Drug Administration proposal would allow millions of consumers to buy over-the-counter hearing aids in stores or online without a prescription or medical exam.

More than four years after Congress ordered the agency to allow over-the-counter hearing aids, it took the first step Tuesday to broaden access to more accessible and affordable devices for millions of patients with mild to moderate hearing loss. The agency’s proposal would create a new category of over-the-counter hearing aids and supersede state-level regulations that require patients to go through physicians or audiologists to get prescriptions and fittings for them.

Infrastructure Trapped in Party Line Clash

President Biden’s Care Infrastruce bill is now trapped in a party-line clash where hearing benefits under Medicare will be ditched as the GOP is pulling away from the centrists that voted for it. Nineteen votes for the bill came from Republicans 2 months ago, as the Republican party is opposed to the Care infrastructure Bill 

Progressives Hold The Line for Care Infrastructures  for Seniors, Women Families

House Democratic Progressives held the line in a weeklong standoff with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who reversed course and canceled plans to vote on the infrastructure bill with the support of President Joe Biden. He told House Democrats the votes weren’t there to pass that bill without the larger social policy bill.

Biden Says Care Infrastructure Price Tag Must Come Down

President Biden told Democrats the initial $3.5 trillion price tag would have to be reduced, and that the talks ranged up to $2.3 trillion, a source familiar with the meeting said Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., floated a $1.5 trillion counteroffer that some decried as being too small.  Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., has declined to say what she’d back, frustrating her colleagues.

 

  • Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he aims to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill and Democrats’ broader investment in the social safety net and climate policy by the end of October.
  • The House delayed a vote on the Senate-passed infrastructure proposal as progressives sought an agreement on the larger piece of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda.
  • Democrats are negotiating a compromise between centrists and progressives on a plan to invest in child care, paid leave, health care, education, and the fight against climate change.

 

If You Are a Woman or Work In Aging Call Your Congressman

Care Infrastructure may wait long if folks in health care and older constituents do not contact their congressman and tell them to support this bill. They control the votes for the bill, and you have to let them know you will only vote for them if they do. Common Cause has this easy way to find and contact your congressman. If you believe in Medicare and seniors’ right not to have their teeth rot, not hear their grandkids or be unable to read a book- do it now.

Sign up for my new free Webinar, How to Sign Up Concierge Clients When Adult Child Calls in Pain

 

Filed Under: Aging, Aging Life Care, Aging Life Care Assocaition, aging life care manager, Bernie Sanders, Bernie Sanfers, Biden Infrastructure Bill Passing, Biden's Caregiver Bill, Biden's Caregiver Bill Trouble, Biden's Caregiver Infastucure Paln, Biden's VA Infrastructure Bill, Black Entrepreneur, Black Entrepreneur RB, Black Entrepreneur RN, Black Geriatric Care Manager, Black RN, Black Travel RN, Blog, Care Infastructure, Care Infrastructure, Care Infrastructure cut out, caregiver, caregiver infrastructure, Caregiver Infrastructure bill, Caregiver living wage, Caregiver low salary, End of Life, Families, Geriatric Care Management Business, Geriatric Care Manager, geriatric social worker, hearing Medicare coverage, Infrastructure Bill, Joe Manchin, Medicaid caregiver, Medicaid Caregivers, Medicare, Medicare Expansion, Medicare For All, nurse advocate, nurse care manager Tagged With: aging life or geriatric care management, ALCA, Biden's Infrastructure Bill, Biden's infrastructure- Caregiver Bill, Blocked Care Infrastructure bill, Call Your Congressman, Care Economy, Care infrastructure, care management, care provider stress, Congress&Infrastructure Bill, geriatric care infrastructure, infrastructure Medicare jobs, Nancy Pelosi

NY Times-The Mushrooming Home Care Aide Crisis

October 8, 2021

Crisis in Homecare Aides NY Times

The New York Times featured a story on the crisis in home care aides on September 25th,2021.The NYT article warned ranks of home care aides are expected to grow by more than those of any other job in the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.But It’s also among the lowest paying occupations on the list. Yet in spite of geriatric care managers  and homecare’s dependence on these aides ,nearly one in five aides lives below the poverty line.  So we have a crisis built on high demand and low supply.

Geriatric Care management depends on home care aides.

Whether a Geriatric Care Manager is placing aides through a partnership with a private duty Home Care agency or employs them by being  a Care Managed Home Care Agency- working with elders means 90% of the aging clients will need  from 4 to 24 hour care from home care aides.

Home Care Aide Top Job In Growth

 

The ranks of home care aides are expected to grow by more than those of any other job in the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s also among the lowest paying occupations on the list. Yet .in spite of geriatric care managers dependence or these aides ,nearly one in five aides lives below the poverty line. 

Seniors Want To Remain at Home

 By 2030, 21 percent of the American population will be at the retirement age, up from 15 percent in 2014, and older adults have long been moving away from institutionalized care. According to an AARP survey, three-quarters of Americans age 50 and older

indicated they prefer to remain in their current residence or community for as long as possible as opposed to a senior care facility.The

preference among older adults to remain in familiar homes and communities is termed “aging in place   “ 

Home Care Industry in Dire Straights

In 2019, national spending on home health care reached a high of $113.5 billion, a 40 percent increase from 2013, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

But this growing industry , which Geriatric Care Managers and all aging services  critically need to support aging in place or care at home rather than an institution,  is in dire trouble.

The pandemic only made things worse. It exposed the vulnerability of not only the

elderly and infirm but also of those who care for them. As Covid-19 spread across the country, many families turned to home health care as an alternative to nursing homes, which had become hot spots for the virus. Shortages of personal protective equipment made the work risky. Many home care aides have not been able to work due to their own underlying conditions, family concerns or general anxiety. This has caused a crisis in the Home Industry, which care managers depend upon for staffing cases. Now with the Biden Mandate of requiring Medicaid and Medicare home care providers to get vaccination, there will be a whole new crisis with care providers under those giant government programs or work in hospitals .

Solutions to the National loss of Home Care Aides

There are many other factors fueling the loss of  paid care providers and there are great solutions offered by Leading Age a national non profit for aging and home care.

This includes , expanding training, increasing pay and increasing the caregiver pipeline to include college students, high school students and recent immigrants.

Filed Under: Blog, caregiver, caregiver infrastructure, Caregiver Infrastructure bill, Caregiver living wage, Caregiver low salary, caregiver mental health, Caregivers collapsing, Caregivers contracting COVId, COVID Homecare aide exposure, COVID impact homecare, homecare aides contract COVID, homecare living wage, homecare low wages, homecare staffing crisis Tagged With: AARP, Aging In Place, COVID-19 exposure, geriatric care manager private duty home care, home care aide crisis, home care aide low salary, Homecare industry disorganization, homecareaides live in poverty, New York Times, not enough private caregivers, private duty home care, solution homecare aide loss, Staffing crisis

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