A steep rise in both the costs of long-term care and the number of Americans requiring such services threatens the extended stability of Medicaid financing. The federal program has been severely burdened in recent years by substantial increases in the amount of United States residents suffering from debilitating yet not life-threatening illnesses alongside a corresponding winnowing of private insurance carriers offering long-term coverage.
In part, the current troubles stem from undeniably positive developments. According to governmental estimates issued this May from the National Center for Health Statistics, life expectancy from birth increased nearly one and a half years for American men between 2004 and 2014. During the same time period, women saw an increase of just over one year.
In addition, the widespread acknowledgement of Alzheimer's and lessening of the associated societal stigma has fueled a dramatic leap forward in the number of cases diagnosed. With medical authorities doubtful of finding an imminent cure, more than 13 million United States residents are now predicted to contract the disease by 2050.
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While Alzheimer's now stands as the nation's sixth leading cause of death, patients given proper medical attention are more likely to stay alive for years after diagnosis than those seniors suffering from similarly degenerative conditions. However, at the same time, neurological impairments furthered by the disease typically demand intensive round the clock care at great expense.
In response to the unexpected uptick in expenses, many of the nation's largest insurance companies have abandoned their previous policies for long-term care altogether. As a result, owing to the expansion of Medicaid brought about by President Obama's Affordable Care Act, the responsibility for these costs has increasingly fallen upon governmental resources.
The federal program currently subsidizes more than two-thirds of the country's long-term care. Furthermore, the most recent projections from the Congressional Budget Office report Medicaid payments dedicated to funding long-term care will leap by nearly half over the next decade alone.
Worsening matters, the attempts made by several states to defray costs by enlisting the services of private firms specializing in managed care have come under fire from consumer advocacy groups concerned that companies motivated by profitability are unduly incentivized to limit available care below medically recommended levels.
"This is really a vexing issue for the country," says California's Long Term Care director Rebecca Schupp. What's more, since current governmental estimates assert some form of long-term care will be necessary for 70 percent of Americans living beyond the age of retirement, the problem will almost certainly grow worse.
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