Certain coverage options could save Medicaid money on long-term care

Using private and/or public insurance options to help finance long-term care could offset costs for the Medicaid program and provide better financial protection for individuals with disabilities, argues a new brief from the Urban Institute with funding from The SCAN Foundation. The brief modeled both a "front-end" plan that begins paying a benefit after 90 days of need and a catastrophic plan that requires a two-year waiting period for benefits, finding the latter saved more for Medicaid and the former offered more individual out-of-pocket savings. "This modeling lays important groundwork for figuring out how to offer viable coverage options for long-term care," Bruce Chernof, M.D., president and CEO of The SCAN Foundation, said in an emailed statement. Brief (.pdf)