This recent New York Times post from the New Old Age is about the fact that Medicare has changed its policy manual to eliminate the need for improvement to receive physical therapy, speech therapy, etc. Here’s an excerpt:
In January of 2014, Medicare officials updated the agency’s policy manual — the rule book for everything Medicare does — to erase any notion that improvement is necessary to receive coverage for skilled care. That means Medicare now will pay for physical therapy, nursing care and other services for beneficiaries with chronic diseases like multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease in order to maintain their condition and prevent deterioration.
This is a very important change. We’ll see how it plays out within Medicare and whether other insurance companies go along with this policy change.
Here’s a link to the full article:
newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/25/a-quiet-sea-change-in-medicare/
The New Old Age: Caring and Coping
The New York Times
A Quiet ‘Sea Change’ in Medicare
By Susan Jaffe
March 25, 2014 5:00 AM
Robin