Senior care has been a delicate topic over the last several decades. Some individuals believe that this should be something that should be left completely to families, while others believe that the government should play a more decisive role in how care is paid for. Currently, state governments pick up some costs through Medicaid (or Medi-Cal here in California), while Medicare reaches across state lines with a federal approach to providing health care to older adults and disabled people.
However, some states have taken a more progressive role in providing for senior citizens than others. New Jersey, for example, has placed a higher emphasis on in-home care than many other states have, and it has helped them to reduce Medicaid costs because the cost of service is so much cheaper for in-home care than it is for nursing home care. It also helps provide for more independence for seniors as this allows them to stay in their own homes for longer periods of time. This is admirable, and hopefully more states will follow suit to some degree, especially as New Jersey’s program comes of age.
Another state that is taking a leadership role in helping to fight for the rights of the elderly and implement better senior care protections is Florida. There, legislators are attempting to figure out a better way to pay for nursing home stays so that those who are most in need of this intensive senior care are able to get it. They are debating a type of reimbursement system so that the highest quality nursing homes have a sort of rewards system in place. By providing excellent care, nursing homes will have the incentive that they need to keep paying their caregivers the high rates that they deserve. Florida already has a system in place to reimburse nursing homes, but this new proposal extends those benefits so that there is a higher emphasis on quality.
Is this sort of system perfect? Probably not. But it does show a commitment to the best care possible. And that is something that is something that we fully support. As senior care becomes a bigger priority in our society, finding new alternatives to help our loved ones gain the best care possible becomes a necessity. Some have dubbed this the “senior care crisis.” The Baby Boomer generation is in need of more care, and it is projected that there will be a shortage of senior care professionals in the next twenty years. By finding new ways to reward caregivers and make senior care more easily accessible, we are taking steps in the right direction. Some approaches will be applauded, others will eventually be rejected. But every trial and error experiment brings us a step closer to ensuring that elderly individuals have the best quality care that they can get in the future.
Change is often difficulty. But sometimes it is a necessary part of improvement. As we strive to provide the best care now, it’s important that others are doing their part to help future generations.
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