AMA Adopts Policy to Make Long-Term Care More Affordable

The American Medical Association (AMA) has adopted a new policy to streamline long-term care insurance while also making it less expensive and more innovative, reports Healio . Under the policy, current employees and retirees will be automatically enrolled, while Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Medigap plans will be urged to offer stronger benefits. "Our hope is that the policies and recommendations we are making today will provide feasible steps forward to alleviating the financial strain on families and Medicaid of providing long-term services and supports," says AMA board member Stephen R. Permut. "With demand for long-term services and supports likely doubling over the next 30 years, the time for action and forward-facing reforms is now." The new AMA policy supports improved access and affordability of private long-term care insurance; the transferability and portability of long-term care insurance via an opt-out option; innovation of long-term care insurance product design; allowances for limited or optional supplemental benefit for long-term services and supports under Medigap plans; permission for Medicare Advantage plans to provide long-term services and supports; a respite care benefit offered as an option through Medigap and Medicare Advantage plans; the launch of a back-end public catastrophic long-term care insurance program; incentivization of states to improve home and community-based services regarding availability; and improved integration of health and social services.