Medicare experimenting with paying for more in-home care

Starting next year, Medicare will begin piloting a program that allows in-home support for seniors in many states through private Medicare Advantage insurance plans (Source: “Medicare expands access to in-home support for seniors,” Associated Press via ABC News, Nov. 9, 2018).

The newly covered services are similar to what people might need if they required long-term care, said Howard Gleckman, a senior researcher at the nonpartisan Urban Institute think tank.

"It begins to break down the wall between long-term care and Medicare, which, with very few exceptions, has never paid for long-term care," Gleckman said.

The new services will be offered by some Medicare Advantage plans in more than 20 states next year, and that's expected to grow over time.