Policy Update

State Oversight of Nursing Homes Draws Criticism

The Licensing and Certification Division (LCD) of the Department of Health Services is supposed to keep an eye on California's nursing homes—but now it's being accused of neglect. In January, a congressional report by the U.S. government accountability office cited California as one of several states where health officials underreport deficiencies and harm to residents at nursing homes. And in March, California legislators ordered an audit of the LCD, responding to scathing testimony and a critical report from the Legislative Analyst's Office. The report alleged that staff reductions have delayed follow-up on complaints, cut the number of citations issued, caused a drop in the amount of penalties imposed and scheduled inspections of nursing homes so predictably that facilities can prepare for them, effectively undermining their value.

California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), a nonprofit watchdog group, has said that as many as 60 percent of the complaints filed by consumers are not investigated, and that there was a noticeable change in priorities—away from consumer's rights and toward the prerogatives of the nursing home industry—when the administration of Govornor Arnold Schwarzenegger came to power in Sacramento.

Meanwhile, a major shift is taking place. Nursing home occupancy rates are dropping while residential care facilities are seeing rapid growth. Assisted living and residential care homes are not considered health care providers, and therefore are not licensed and regulated by the Department of Health Services. Read More

Medicare Beneficiaries Face Final Enrollment Deadline

So far, about seven million people without any prior drug coverage have enrolled in prescription drug plans through the new Medicare (Part D) drug benefit, and as the enrollment deadline approaches, federal officials are making a last push to educate and sign up the eight million who have not yet enrolled. Those who do not sign up by May 15th may face enrollment penalties, or may be automatically assigned to a plan. Being automatically dumped into a random plan may be as bad or worse than having no plan at all. In one heavily publicized incident, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt accidentally enrolled his parents in one plan, only to discover that this enrollment would have jeopardized his father's retiree coverage since you can't be enrolled in two plans at once.

Leavitt is spearheading this final enrollment drive, and will be along for the ride on a special California two-bus tour. The tour started April 18th and will travel to Stockton, Sand City (Monterey County), Westminster, Long Beach, San Francisco, Oakland, and Redding. At each stop, counselors equipped with laptops will be able to help Medicare beneficiaries sort through different plans and enroll them on the spot if they so choose. Anyone already enrolled in Medicare can sign up for the voluntary Part D benefit. Read More

Canadian Government Commits $15 Million Toward Finding Alzheimer's Cure

Premier Gordon Campbell announced on April 18th that the Canadian province of British Columbia will lead the world in the search for a cure to Alzheimer's Disease, and committed $15 million in research funding toward realizing that goal. About 435,000 Canadians over the age of 65 suffer from Alzheimer's or a related dementia, and another 97,000 cases are expected to be diagnosed this year, according to an estimate from the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

Premier Campbell has championed this cause in the past, as well. In 1999 he and his family climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, raising about $130,000 for Alzheimer's research. He takes a very progressive, practical approach: "Alzheimer's today in Canada costs the country about $5 billion a year. We spend hardly any of that on research," he told a news conference at the Brain Research Center at UBC hospital. "It's been 100 years since Alzheimer's was discovered," he added. "We want to make sure that it's not 100 years until we find the cure." Read More

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