Initiative IDs caregivers of Medicare beneficiaries
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has launched Ask Medicare, an initiative to help family caregivers access valuable healthcare information, services and resources. More than 44 million Americans provide care to a loved one, friend or neighbor, valued in economic terms at $350 billion annually, according to a recent report by AARP. The new initiative will provide a Web page for caregivers that provides easy access to useful information about Medicare and other essential resources to help with caregiving.
Wisconsin program to keep elderly out of the system
A program to help care for the elderly and disabled outside of nursing homes could cost Wisconsin taxpayers another $71.5 million over two years. Gov. Jim Doyle’s administration says the Family Care program will save the state money over the long run while giving more elderly and disabled residents the option of receiving long-term care in their home or in an assisted living center. But by June of next year, the program will have reached 44 of the state’s 72 counties, meaning there could still be more short-term costs ahead for taxpayers as the program expands.
N.H. plans to distribute flu vaccine to kids
New Hampshire is launching a $2 million effort to immunize more children against the flu. Marcella Bobinsky, immunization program manager at the Department of Health and Human Services, said the goal is to immunize 140,000 of the roughly 320,000 children living in the Granite State. The increased effort is part of a nationwide directive by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is giving states two years to cover just about every child, she said.
CMS funds state efforts of home-based awareness
Seven states have received $8.3 million in federal grants to increase awareness of home- and community-based long-term care options for people leaving hospitals who otherwise may enter a traditional nursing home. According to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Acting Administrator Kerry Weems, the grants are part of the Real Choice Systems Change (RCSC) grant program, designed to help states and territories rebalance their long-term support programs to help people with chronic illness or disabilities stay in their homes. According to CMS officials, more than $7 million will be used to develop person-centered hospital discharge planning models.