Industry Likes Medicare Home Care Expansion, But Cost Is Unknown

Patient advocacy and industry groups are cheering Medicare’s move to start paying nursing home, home care and physical therapy bills for some patients who were previously denied coverage. But how much extra it will cost the government is far from clear.

The change “is expected to affect the lives of tens of thousands of Americans, perhaps hundreds of thousands” with chronic conditions, Gill Deford, a lawyer with the Center for Medicare Advocacy, told reporters on a conference call. “Far too many American families have had to pay for vital services out of pocket” or forgo care they couldn’t afford, he said.

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source: Kaiser Health News