Long-Term Care Panel Releases Recommendations But Fails To Offer Plan To Help Pay For Services

A commission created by Congress to address the country’s surging need for long-term health care released recommendations Friday but did not reach a consensus on how to pay for these often expensive services.

The proposals were part of a report that received bipartisan support from nine of the 15 commissioners, five Republicans and four Democrats. It also was rejected by a bipartisan minority, five Democrats and a Republican.

The group's full report is expected to be released next week.

The three-page summary of recommendations tackles a wide-ranging list of concerns but offers few specific remedies. Among its many proposals, the panel calls for supporting criminal background checks for long-term care workers, ensuring that family caregivers are included in care planning, using more technology to share information; revising scope of practice rules to allow nurses and others to provide medical services and improving working conditions and opportunities for direct care workers.

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Source: Kaiser Health News