LONG-TERM CARE:
House Subcommittee Checking Into Asset Transfers
Published on Thu May 12, 2005
Medicaid-sponsered nursing home care could get harder to obtain.
Congressional leaders once again are taking aim at asset transfers among recipients of Medicaid's nursing home benefit.
House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair Nathan Deal (R-GA) said the $10 billion in reconciliation savings designated for his subcommittee probably would not come solely from Medicaid, CQ HealthBeat reports. He said "personal responsibility" would be the focus of Medicaid changes.
Medicaid Qualifications Could Tighten That "personal responsibility" could include tightening regulations on asset transfers that allow people to qualify for Medicaid-funded nursing home care as well as more co-payments for services, he said. Last month, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt formally established a commission to study Medicaid, including the way the program delivers long-term care.