A new chart book suggests that Medicare maybe filling a need for long-term care through paying for post-acute care services for the nation’s elderly.  Read this article from PR-Canada.net.

“The Avalere chart book indicates that although Medicare was never designed to address long-term care, which is an integral and growing factor of any health care reform proposal, there is still a need for long-term care services among the Medicare population,” said Dr. Bruce Chernof, president and CEO of The SCAN Foundation. “We may have sufficient funding in the system now, but we are not using it efficiently. Families, nonprofits, and state agencies are taking the lead in developing new ways to provide and pay for services, but they are hobbled by Medicare models designed to pay for acute and post- acute care and lack of integration between Medicare and Medicaid. We need flexibility based on the recognition that America’s seniors want to stay independent as long as possible.”

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