Publicly traded companies that operate facilities in multiple states show “record revenues” and “operating profits that exceeded expectations.” One company’s revenues spiked 62% over the same quarter last year while another company squeezed out an additional $2.26 per resident day over fourth quarter 2011 Medicare rates.

“Nursing home owners are obviously ‘coping’ from last year’s Medicare adjustments through progressive acquisition strategies and imaginative cost mitigation techniques,” said Lee. “What’s also bolstering their profitability is a stronger Medicaid reimbursement rate, growing two percent over the past year.”

But industry lobbyists claim that “continued Medicaid rate cuts have created a dire situation” when it comes to paying for nursing home care.

These earning reports show otherwise. What has become critical is that substandard care continues to be dolled out in far too many nursing homes, according to Families for Better Care.

You could fill a baseball stadium many times with the people who experts say die each year from an error [1], injury or infection [2] suffered while undergoing medical treatment. Many more are harmed.

Using Facebook, we've created a space to bring together those who have been harmed and others concerned about the problem. Join the community or follow the conversation here.

The Illinois Legislature will soon be deciding on how to slash the Medicaid program to satisfy the Governor's request of a $2.7 billion cut. The initial proposal from Governor Quinn was a 10% reduction in home care and hospice services through utilization controls. The Illinois HomeCare & Hospice Council has responded by commissioning a study by the Center for Long-Term Care Reform at Health & Medicine Policy Research Group (HMPRG) on the negative fiscal impact of home care cuts. We invite you to read the study.

In her book “What Really Matters: 7 Lessons for Living from the Stories of the Dying” Wyatt relates numerous stories of patients who were able to accomplish significant transformations as they neared death, healing old relationships and resolving wounds from the past. These individuals experienced serenity and a sense of fulfillment at the time of death because of the emotional and spiritual healing that occurred in their final days.

But, according to Dr. Wyatt, this type of transformation is not possible if pain is not properly managed. She emphasizes that medication levels must be carefully monitored and titrated so that the patient experiences adequate pain relief without being over-sedated. And she believes that many healthcare providers lack sufficient education on pain management to help their patients attain this optimal level of relief.

As people with a particular medical condition we, of course, focus on how the illness affects our bodies.  Increasingly we have a look at how it impacts our lifestyles and general wellbeing

In this blog, however, we want to look at the lives from a slightly different angle.  What affect of a chronic medical condition has upon your finances and the finances of those who care for patients?

There are lots of issues to consider here.  For example:-

• cost of medication
• the need for some kind of state or charitable support such as a disability living allowance
• increased costs for such things as clothes and childcare
• lack of job opportunities due to disability

The aim of this blog is to allow our readers both to share their experiences and also provide tips for solving financial problems.  To kick start the discussion we would love it if you could have a look at a number of questions:-

• What is your main medical condition?  How long have you had the condition?
• Has your household income risen or fallen since then?
• What, if any, is the effect of the condition upon your working life and your ability to earn a living?
• Have you received any kind of benefits for your condition from your government?  How easy was it for you to apply for these benefits?
• Have you found any alternative ways for earning a living? For example working from home?
• Do you have any suggestions as to useful web links which you can share with our readers for helping with any financially related issues?

 

Feel free to add anything else you think might be of interest.

Thanks very much in advance for your help. Remember, a blog is really like having a conversation with lots of people at the same time and so please check back on the blog to see what others have said so that if you feel like adding to their thoughts you can.

If you have any requests for blogs like this on a different subject please send us an email to info@healthcarelandscape.com

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We run a number of research project with patients each year and if you would be interested in taking part in these kinds of projects or any other medical or healthcare market research why not join us at The Patients Voice by clicking the button below.

If you have any comments to make about this article please use the comment box provided below.

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Katie Beckett, 34, whose battle with a childhood disease and federal bureaucracy made her a national symbol in the 1980s, died today.

Beckett’s death was confirmed by Teahen Funeral Home of Cedar Rapids. Her parents Julie Beckett and Mark Beckett declined comment today.

Beckett contracted viral encephalitis five months after her March 9, 1978 birth in Cedar Rapids.  She recovered after three years in pediatric intensive care, but the resulting respiratory condition required continued therapy and use of a respirator 12 hours a day.

“I was forced to live in a hospital for the first three and a half years of my life because insurance companies would not pay for services to let me live at home,” Beckett wrote the Gazette in 2007.

A new study led by Brown University researchers reports that percutaneous endoscopic gastric (PEG) feeding tubes, long assumed to help bedridden dementia patients stave off or overcome pressure ulcers, may instead make the horrible sores more likely to develop or not improve.

The analysis of thousands of nursing home patients with advanced dementia appears in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"This study provides new information about the risks of feeding tube insertion in people with advanced cognitive impairment," said lead author Dr. Joan Teno, a gerontologist and professor of health services, policy, and practice in the Public Health Program at Brown. "We see a substantial risk of people developing a stage II and higher pressure ulcer. We believe these risks should be discussed with family members before a decision is made to insert a feeding tube in a hospitalized nursing home resident with advanced cognitive impairment."

Elaine Vlieger is making some concessions to Alzheimer's. She's cut back on her driving, frozen dinners replace once elaborate cooking, and a son monitors her finances. But the Colorado woman lives alone and isn't ready to give up her house or her independence.

Some 800,000 people with Alzheimer's, roughly 1 in 7 Americans with the disease, live alone in their communities, according to surprising new data from the Alzheimer's Association. It's a different picture of the mind-destroying disease than the constant caregiving that eventually these people will need.

Many such as Vlieger cope on their own during dementia's earlier stages with support from family and friends who keep in close contact.

Rates of breakdowns and repairs appeared higher for individuals from a racial/ethnic minority background. These same individuals were also less likely to have a backup wheelchair available.

Individuals whose wheelchairs were funded by Medicare or Medicaid had higher rates of breakdowns and consequences, compared to those covered by private insurance or other sources (such as the Veterans Administration or workers compensation).

More than 2.8 million Americans use a wheelchair for mobility, allowing greater independence in daily functioning, home life, and vocational settings. Wheelchair users are at risk when breakdowns occur, with consequences ranging from minor inconveniences to significant injuries.

In a study of senior citizen patients 65 and older with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), younger patients were more likely to receive treatment than older patients, regardless of overall health and prognosis.

The study of more than 20,000 patients, led by a team of physicians at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) and UCSF, found that, for all stages of cancer, treatment rates decreased more in association with advancing age than with the worsening of other illnesses.

Patients between the ages of 65 to 74 who were severely ill from other illnesses, and thus less likely to benefit and more likely to be harmed from cancer treatment, received treatment at roughly the same rate as patients in the same age range with no comorbidities.