| |
|
|
| Home > Newsletters > Caregiving PolicyDigest > Volume IX, Number 2, January 21, 2009
|
|
E-mail to a Friend
|
| |
|
|
| A newsletter of FCA's National Center on Caregiving |
January 21, 2009
Volume IX, Number 2
Family Caregiver Alliance congratulates Barack Obama on becoming the 44th
President of the United States.
|
|
|
|
|
IN THIS ISSUE
State Legislation, Policy & Reports
- California: State Considers Requiring Nursing Homes to Display Star Quality Ratings More...
- Florida Adopts Silver Alert for Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment More...
Federal Legislation, Policy & Reports
- FCA's National Center on Caregiving Releases 2009 National Policy Agenda More...
- Bill Addressing Geriatric Workforce Issues and Caregiver Assessment Reintroduced in Senate and House More...
- CBO Report Analyzes Health and Long-Term Care Reform Options More...
International News
- Canada: New Data Reveal 15% of Canadians with Alzheimer's or Related Dementia Are Under 65 Years Old More...
- United Kingdom: Number of Older Adults Receiving Home Care Drops by 70,000 More...
Research Reports & Journal Articles
- "Most People Support Alzheimer's Research Based on Family Consent" More...
- Analysis of the Benefits of Respite for People with Dementia and Their Caregivers More...
Conferences & Trainings
- National Health Policy Conference February 2-3 More...
- NASW To Hold its Annual Conference at Aging in America Conference March 15-16 More...
Funding, Media & Miscellaneous
- United Hospital Fund Launches Next Step in Care Website More...
|
California: State Considers Requiring Nursing Homes to Display Star Quality Ratings
Based on the requests of some Los Angeles County supervisors, California lawmakers are considering requiring nursing homes in the state to display publicly their federal star quality ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). If they do so, California would be the first state with such a requirement. Proponents argue that consumers and the public deserve more information about the quality of care patients receive in nursing homes. However, nursing home officials and some patient advocates oppose the plan. Nursing homes claim the ratings rely too heavily on outdated data and can leave false impressions that particular nursing homes are worse than they really are. Patient advocates claim the ratings can provide a false good impression because they are often based on reports from nursing home staffers, who have incentives to make themselves look good, and because the ratings fail to take into account state health department citations. For more information, visit:
Los Angeles Times
|
FCA's National Center on Caregiving Releases 2009 National Policy Agenda
On January 15, the National Center on Caregiving (NCC) at Family Caregiver Alliance submitted its 2009 National Agenda to then President-elect Barack Obama and his transition team. The agenda lays out the NCC's policy priorities which include: authorizing and funding a National Resource Center on Caregiving, modernizing Medicare and Medicaid to better support family caregivers, commissioning an Institute of Medicine (IOM) study on family caregiving, providing adequate funding for the National Family Caregiver Support Program and the Lifespan Respite Act, expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and other paid leave policies, promoting policies that expand the geriatric care workforce, enacting legislation providing refundable tax credits for family caregivers and employers, and strengthening Social Security by recognizing the work of family caregivers. For more information, visit:
Family Caregiver Alliance
Bill Addressing Geriatric Workforce Issues and Caregiver Assessment Reintroduced in Senate and House
After introducing the Retooling the Healthcare Workforce for an Aging America Act in December, at the end of the 110th Congress, Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, along with Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Bob Casey (D-PA), quickly reintroduced the bill (S. 245) this month at the start of the 111th Congress. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) introduced the companion bill (H.R. 468) in the House. The bill aims to expand education and training opportunities in geriatrics and long-term care for licensed health professionals, direct care workers and family caregivers in order to better prepare the workforce to meet the needs of the growing older adult population. Specifically, the bill permits state Medicaid programs to do an assessment of a family caregiver's needs and to provide referral to appropriate services when he or she is caring for a Medicaid beneficiary who qualifies for home and community-based services and who relies on the family caregiver for much of their care. The bill also ensures that health care providers provide family caregivers of Medicare beneficiaries information and referral to community support services at the point of discharge from a hospital, skilled nursing facility, or rehabilitation facility. For more information, visit:
Thomas
CBO Report Analyzes Health and Long-Term Care Reform Options
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report, Budget Options Volume I, in December 2008 which focuses on budget options related to health care, including financing, delivery, and access, within federal programs and the larger health care system. It is designed to help policymakers understand the trade-offs and choices inherent in making changes, large or small, to the American health care system and to federal health care programs. The report includes a chapter on long-term care, which covers options such as expanding Home and Community-Based Services options through Medicaid, amending Medicaid's assets requirements and encouraging adults to purchase long-term care insurance. For more information, visit:
Congressional Budget Office
|
Canada: New Data Reveal 15% of Canadians with Alzheimer's or Related Dementia Are Under 65 Years
New data released in early January reveal that more than 71,000 Canadians living with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia are under the age of 65, comprising 15% of those with the disorders. The study, Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society, was undertaken by Canada's Alzheimer Society in conjunction with RiskAnalytica. The data show that approximately 72% of the 500,000 Canadians with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia are women. The report predicts that the number of Canadians with those diseases could double over the next 25 years. For more information, visit:
Alzheimer Society
United Kingdom: Number of Older Adults Receiving Home Care Drops by 70,000
According to news reports, the number of older adults in the United Kingdom receiving home care services has declined by 17% since government programs have become more restrictive. Research reveals that 70,000 fewer older adults received home care in 2007, compared to prior years, despite the rising number of older adults in the society and the growing need for personal care assistance. The drop in numbers is being attributed to a 2003 policy that allows local authorities to impose eligibility criteria on retirees who ask for help, often restricting help to only those most needy. Those adults who have been denied home care have been forced either to rely on informal care from family or friends or to move into costly nursing homes. For more information, visit:
Telegraph
|
"Most People Support Alzheimer's Research Based on Family Consent"
A new study led by the University of Michigan Health System examined the attitudes of older adults regarding surrogate-based research. The study, which appears in Neurology (Volume 23, Issue 2), involved a national survey of Americans over 50 years old. The majority of those surveyed stated that society should allow a family member to act as a surrogate in providing consent for a cognitively impaired family member to participate in research studies. It also revealed that the majority would support having their family members enroll them in research in case of future incapacity For more information, visit:
University of Michigan Health System
Analysis of the Benefits of Respite for People with Dementia and Their Caregivers
A review from the Cochrane Collaboration analyzed three randomized controlled trial studies in order to assess the effects of respite care for people with dementia and their caregivers, and in particular the effect of respite care on rates of institutionalization. The analysis revealed that "current evidence does not demonstrate any benefits or adverse effects from the use of respite care for people with dementia or their caregivers." The author, Lee Cameron, warns that those results should be treated with caution because various flaws were identified in the research designs of the three studies. Cameron notes that, "given the frequency with which respite care is advocated and provided, well-designed trials in this area are needed." For more information, visit:
Cochrane Collaboration
|
United Hospital Fund Launches Next Step in Care Website
The United Hospital Fund in New York has launched a website called the Next Step in Care in order to improve the working relationships between family caregivers and health care providers. The website offers a range of guides and checklists for family caregivers of persons with serious illness, as well as documents designed for health care providers to make patients' transitions between care settings smoother and safer. The website is the first stage of a larger campaign that will engage hospitals, nursing home rehabilitation facilities and home health agencies, as well as patient advocacy groups and other family caregiver-focused organizations, in addressing a range of transition-related challenges. For more information, visit:
Next Step in Care
|
|
|
|
To find caregiver support services in your state, visit FCA's Family Care Navigator http://caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/fcn_content_node.jsp?nodeid=2083
?2009 Family Caregiver Alliance. All rights reserved.
The National Center on Caregiving at Family Caregiver Alliance works to advance the development of high-quality and cost-effective policies and programs for caregivers in every state in the country. The National Center is a central source of information and technical assistance on family caregiving for policymakers, health and service providers, program developers, funders, media and families. For questions or further information about the National Center on Caregiving, contact PolicyDigest@caregiver.org or visit the Family Caregiver Alliance website at www.caregiver.org.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to Caregiving PolicyDigest, use the following link: www.caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/content_node.jsp?nodeid=836
Or, contact Family Caregiver Alliance using our toll-free phone number: (800) 445-8106
Your subscription information is used only for the purpose of improving this service and tailoring it to the needs of its audience. Information provided to us will not be shared with any other organization, agency, corporation, entity or third party.
Caregiving PolicyDigest is a publication of the National Center on Caregiving at Family Caregiver Alliance, 180 Montgomery Street, Suite 1100, San Francisco, CA 94104.
|
|
|
|
|
E-mail to a Friend
|
| |
|
|
|
