As if Nursing Homes Aren’t Enough…
Every day we hear more and more information about Bush tax cuts, Medicare and Medicaid cuts and all sorts of issues that will confront the most vulnerable individuals in the country.
There are members of Congress on both sides of the aisle who are not at all happy with the fact that Alzheimer’s patients and nursing home/long term care patients may lose their care, but now, let’s add physical therapy to the mix.
Members of Congress are not happy. Healthcare advocates are upset. Individuals with disabilities that need the services, and disability advocates are, well, almost livid.
To their credit, Congress is doing all they can to stop this situation from happening. What will happen if Congress is not successful is that after July 1st, a large number of patients will learn that they have exceeded their cap on their therapy benefits and will have to start paying – sometimes very high amounts – out of their own pockets or find hospitals that will treat them.
All courtesy of the Bush Administration’s Medicare plans for the future. The very near future. It is possible that over 650,000 beneficiaries could lose their therapy benefits by the end of this year. Congress is against this happening and both Democrats and Republicans have ideas on how to stop this. Regardless, both sides are trying to do what they can to prevent these regulations from going through, protecting those that need this care the most.
The Medicare Rights Center has stated that it will be perilous for beneficiaries if the deadline passes without Congressional action stopping this. Patents with these benefits can be in therapy for everything from broken bones to strokes to traumatic brain injury. Those with more minor issues can choose to wait, address their issues in a different way or, if possible, they can make arrangements (possibly by negotiating block or discount prices) to pay the costs themselves if they can.
However, those with severe issues may have a much more difficult time. For instance, when dealing with long term therapy, if the person needs to stop because of these provisions, their condition could digress and they could get worse, reversing progress they have made.
The catch is that current regulations allow about $1,800 for physical therapy for year in a doctor’s or therapist’s office; however there is no cap for receiving these services as an outpatient in a hospital. Though patients can choose to go to a hospital for treatment, there are not enough hospitals or therapists available at those hospitals to treat them.
This is a quandary for those who need these benefits. It is important and notable that Congress is trying to act in time to overcome the July 1st deadline to block the Bush Administration from allowing these services to be curtailed for people who truly need and depend on them.
