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End-of-Life Choices

Trends in end-of-life care show that not only does the care given vary widely from region to region and hospital to hospital, but also patients often don't get the care they prefer. What can be done?

Care Management Puzzle

Chronic diseases and the cost of care are rising. Are disease management programs improving outcomes for patients with complex, chronic conditions?

No Middleman

Under the "direct primary care" model, patients pay a monthly fee for basic medical services. Learn about the history and current landscape of physician practices offering this arrangement.

Long-Term Care

Monday, December 05, 2011

Opinion: New Type of Homes Can Change Long-Term Care

"'Green House' homes -- the first of their kind in California -- will provide seniors with quality care [and] could revolutionize the way California cares for seniors who can no longer live independently," Risa Lavizzo-Mourey -- president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and a former member of the federal Task Force on Aging -- writes in a Sacramento Bee opinion piece. Lavizzo-Mourey notes that the homes, which provide private rooms and bathrooms for up to 12 seniors, "look and feel like real homes" but also are fully equipped with "all the medical equipment and clinical apparatus" found in traditional nursing homes. She discusses construction under way in Pomona to build two Green House homes, adding that the Green House model "shows that it is possible to deliver the highest level of skilled to the most vulnerable members of society in a practical, affordable way."

Reader Comments:
  • 1
  • 12/05/2011
  • Barbara Hanson

The standard life care facilities already provide this more user friendly care, because they are private pay. The nursing homes look for the economy of scale, having 99 or so residents per one 24/7 nursing staff. When 60% of your residents are Medi-Cal and are reimbursing at a lower rate than profitable, nursing home owners may find it even harder to provide more care w/ less money on a smaller scale.
This model could work monetarily w/ 100% Medicare short term rehab patients, assuming the federal government can afford the much higher Medicare reimbursement rates indefinitely (Baby Boom)--but nursing homes are currently required to take unrealistically low reimbursing Medi-Cal residents to be eligible for Medicare patients, too.
For the near future, I see this option as feasible only for those of means and the long term care insured. If more folks can pay for their care adequately, maybe the welfare system will not be so stressed and be able to become this user friendly.



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