Continued Medicaid Payment Shortfalls Are Very Scary

Here’s a link to the December 2012 Report on Shortfalls in Medicaid funding. This is an annual report commissioned by the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and performed by Eljay, LLC.

Not surprisingly, the report (page 6) states that:

• “Between 2010 and 2012, the… projected (Medicaid) shortfall climbed to $22.34 from $18.54 in 2010, a 20.5 percent increase in the shortfall amount.”

• “We estimate that in 2012, state Medicaid programs, on average, reimbursed nursing center providers only 88.9 percent of their projected allowable costs incurred on behalf of Medicaid patients. This means that for every dollar of allowable cost incurred for a Medicaid patient in 2012, Medicaid programs reimbursed, on average, approximately 89 cents. This represents the lowest percentage since the inception of this study in 1999.

This is very scary stuff!

Obviously, the government is less and less capable of providing long-term care.

I hope that those of you who do not already own reasonably priced long-term care insurance (LTCi) will take heed and plan responsibly for your long-term care. LTCi is the reasonable – and sure – way to ensure you will have all the options you’ll prefer if long-term care is needed.