Trends – Eldercare Issues Discussion Group

Innovation: The Greenhouse Project

Richmond Shreve — Sat, 21 Sep 2024 15:32:03 +0000

More than a good idea, the Greenhouse Project is one innovation in the continuum of care that is gaining traction. It offers supportive care for those in need of it in a setting that encourages friendships and closer relationships with care givers and residents. It’s a type of congregate care that is less institutional and more nurturing than alternatives. Both residents and staff see it as better overall than alternative. Read more by visiting the website.

https://thegreenhouseproject.org/

Question 2 for Pennswood Residents

Richmond Shreve — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 02:45:07 +0000

CEO Dan Murray has posted the second in a series of weekly planning questions for residents to ponder and answer. Here is my response to today’s query. What do you think? Post a comment.

Medicare Advantage?

Richmond Shreve — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 23:55:39 +0000

It looks like the main beneficiary of the for-profit Medicare Advantage program is the corporate entities that administer it. Here are two recent clips worth reading.

[https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2405438?query=TOC&cid=DM2350265_Non_Subscriber&bid=-1887545833]

And then there is this clip …

Insurers
An analysis of billions of Medicare records found that private insurers involved in Medicare Advantage have made hundreds of thousands of specious diagnoses from 2018 to 2021 that meant they got money from the government, including for patients that received no treatment, or claimed diagnoses that contradicted what doctors actually said. Major insurers would add insurer-diagnosed issues like diabetic cataracts, morbid obesity, and emphysema to client records and bill the government despite no treatment actually being procured. About 18,000 Medicare Advantage recipients had an insurer come up with an HIV diagnosis, which gets insurers another $3,000 per year, even though less than 17 percent of patients with insurer-driven HIV diagnoses were actually on antiretroviral drugs, and it appears that almost all of those people didn’t have HIV. All told, Medicaid paid insurers $50 billion for diagnoses that they themselves added over the period.
Christopher Weaver, Tom McGinty, Anna Wilde Mathews and Mark Maremont, The Wall Street Journal
Thanks to NumLock News.
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Jennifer Schwalm’s Talk

Richmond Shreve — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 15:29:33 +0000

Thursday, June 6th, we have the privilege of hearing Jennifer Schwalm speak about conditions in the senior living and life care market place. Pennswood, in addition to being our community and our home, is a competitor in these markets. For strategic planning, it is essential that we inform ourselves about the business prospects and other external factors that influence our sustainability financially. Here is Jennifer’s CV from her firm’s website, and also some questions that I submitted.

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https://www.bakertilly.com/contact/directory/jennifer-schwalm

Letters

Richmond Shreve — Fri, 03 May 2024 15:27:08 +0000

Three letters have been sent following our discussions at the recent meeting. They are reproduced below with a brief narrative introduction. Subscribers are encouraged to comment on this post.

Answers to Financial Questions

Dan Seeger reiterated his request to Tim McQuaid for a follow-up meeting to clarify and explain the brief responses made at the budget presentation.

Concerns about Rumors

Dan Seeger, on behalf of the Eldercare Discussion Group, wrote to Dan Murray expressing our concerns and asking for more community discussion of 1) how Pennswood deals with individual employees and the resident community when termination of employment is deemed necessary, and 2) a more fulsome response to Alice Crozier’s question about CCRC marketplace changes and regulatory changes that “paused” plans for health center construction and renovation.

Surprise Announcements of Healthcare Policy

Brad Sheeks, a member of the Healthcare Advisory Committee, requests that his committee object to the fact that important changes to healthcare services are announced without prior consultation with the resident committee charged with providing advice on such matters.