Who pays for nursing homes?
There are generally 4 institutions which pay for nursing home (NH) care. • Medicare. Medicare pays 100% of the first 20 days of NH stays after a hospitalization, and a portion of NH costs between days 21-100 after a hospitalization. • Long-term care (LTC) insurance. Private LTC insurance is purchased at younger ages and protects against the risk of needing NH care. LTC insurance is still fairly rare; only about 4% of NH expenditures are paid by private LTC insurance plans. • Out of pocket payments. • Medicaid. Medicaid will generally pay for NH care if the individual meets certain income and asset requirements. Generally, the individual needs to qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or be in a state which allows the individual to “spend down” income in order to qualify for Medicaid. Analysis The authors seek to see how loosening Medicaid restrictions will impact NH usage. Expanding Medicaid income eligibility requirements, of course, will mechanically make more individuals eli
