Caught in the throes of a pandemic lethal to those they serve, nursing homes have been largely abandoned by policymakers. The $4.9 billion in federal relief provided in May was very welcome. However,...
Hospitals are heroic, while nursing homes are always to blame
By
Brendan Williams
Apr 29, 2020
Hospitals have always enjoyed “most favored nation” status in healthcare, and that’s even more true during the COVID-19 pandemic. But apparently you can’t have heroes without villains. While lauding...
Coronavirus sheds light on nursing home underfunding
By
Brendan Williams
Mar 09, 2020
Why should it take the COVID-19 outbreak for policymakers to pay attention to nursing homes? Last year in the state of Washington, when Medicaid underfunding forced the closure of Keiro Northwest — a...
Facts, not anecdotes, must guide long-term care policy
By
Brendan Williams
Feb 14, 2020
An oft-repeated canard that bedevils advocates for facility-based care is the assertion, by an organization that peddles Medicare insurance products, that “90% of people don’t want to be in a nursing...
‘Gimmick’ bashing from the expert
By
Brendan Williams
Dec 02, 2019
Seema Verma, administrator for The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, is at it again with a proposed rule that purports “to eliminate state financing gimmicks that cost the federal government...
Ideology trumps rationality in Tennessee block grant proposal
By
Brendan Williams
Sep 30, 2019
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan once admitted he had been “dreaming” of cutting Medicaid since his college kegger days. But one person’s dream can be another’s nightmare. That’s now the case for...
Providing a living wage
By
Brendan Williams
Jul 29, 2019
We are on an unsustainable trajectory for long-term care if even a progressive state like Washington is faltering.
Block grants won’t lead to cost-cutting efficiency
By
Brendan Williams
May 31, 2019
Eviscerating the social safety net through block grants can only further contribute to a dystopian future for aging adults and all others on Medicaid.
Sen. Grassley fails to recognize the real neglect
By
Brendan Williams
Apr 19, 2019
Sen. Chuck Grassley has used his position to attack long-term care in headline-grabbing ways.
Trump’s proposed budget is an attack on Medicare
By
Brendan Williams
Mar 22, 2019
In March 2015, President Donald Trump, on Twitter, stated, “I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. Huckabee copied...