Montana is looking to fast-track Medicaid access for older adults who need help to stay in their homes or towns.
KFF Health NewsOct 10 2024
Montana would join at least 11 states that have presumptive eligibility for seniors and people with disabilities to access in-home care, according to AARP. Washington state began expediting Medicaid coverage in 2023 for people recently discharged from a hospital and plans to expand coverage further. Rhode Island authorizes such benefits to new long-term care applicants. And a law signed last winter in New Jersey means seniors there will have similar access.
Tyler Amundson, executive director of Big Sky Senior Services, a nonprofit that helps seniors stay in their home, said in one case, a couple without the support they needed ended up in the hospital dozens of times over two months. For years, states have had the option through the Affordable Care Act to allow qualified hospitals to extend presumptive eligibility to some adults based on their income, on top of the opportunity that most states give pregnant women and children. But in states such as Montana, people 65 and older haven't been included. States need a federal waiver to expand who qualifies for that early access.
The draft bill spells out some covered services, such as meal delivery and in-home medical equipment. Lawmakers noted it's not clear if the proposal would help people move into long-term care, such as assisted living facilities, which offer daily support rather than medical treatment.
Aging Children Disability Health Care Home Care Hospital Nursing Poverty Seniors
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
US uninsured rate was stable in 2023, even as states’ Medicaid purge beganThe proportion of Americans without health insurance remained stable in 2023, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday, close to the record low the Biden administration achieved in 2022 through expansions of public programs, including the Affordable Care Act.
Read more »
US uninsured rate was stable in 2023, even as states' Medicaid purge beganThe proportion of Americans without health insurance remained stable in 2023, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday, close to the record low the Biden administration achieved in 2022 through expansions of public programs, including the Affordable Care Act.
Read more »
Tossed medicine, delayed housing: How homeless sweeps are thwarting Medicaid’s goalsAndrew Douglass shoved his clothes and belongings into plastic trash bags as five police officers surrounded his encampment — a drab gray tent overflowing along a bustling sidewalk in the gritty Tenderloin neighborhood, where homeless people lie sprawled on public sidewalks, sometimes in drug overdoses.
Read more »
Immigration detainer holds linked to lower Medicaid and SNAP enrollment among eligible adultsMillions of eligible adults may not be signing up for medical and nutrition support programs because they live in areas where friends and neighbors are detained due to their immigration status.
Read more »
California Medicaid ballot measure is popular, well funded — and perilous, opponents warnThe proponents of Proposition 35, a November ballot initiative that would create a dedicated stream of funding to provide health care for California's low-income residents, have assembled an impressive coalition: doctors, hospitals, community clinics, dentists, ambulance companies, several county governments, numerous advocacy groups, big...
Read more »
Tossed Medicine, Delayed Housing: How Homeless Sweeps Are Thwarting Medicaid's GoalsA new study reveals how homeless sweeps disrupt healthcare access for vulnerable individuals enrolled in Medicaid, highlighting the detrimental impact on their health and well-being.
Read more »