***** Administration on Aging
is an excellent resource for the elderly, as well as researchers and students.
It contains links to Sites such as government health policy documents,
managed care commentaries, and studies on access to health care for the
aging population. In addition, the Site has a "search" feature to expedite
searches for a particular topic. This Web Site is comprehensive and easy
to navigate.
**** Long Term Care Daily
is a Web Site that contains news and commentary on long term care issues.It
has been chosen to be a Select Site by the editors of the Dow Jones
Business Directory. The Site contains links to ELDER WEB, LTC COMMISSARY,
BUSINESSWIRE.COM, NEWS UPDATED DAILY, and others. In addition, the site
contains commentary on issues such as managed care for the elderly. The
format of the Site facilitates ease in finding articles on topics of interest.
**** American Society on
Aging includes a special section called "Managed Care Aging Network."
This Site provides critical information for those in managed care organizations
already working with the Medicare population and those positioning themselves
to do so. MCAN is also for professionals in other healthcare and long-term
care organizations and for aging services providers looking to work with
the managed care community. MCAN enables its members to share successful
strategies for managing high-risk populations, Integrating primary, acute
and long-term care across the continuum of home, community and institutional
settings, working with diverse groups, linking managed care organizations
with home and community-based services, promoting maximum health status
and functional independence. This Web Site is easy to navigate and is helpful
to both consumers and researchers.
*** American Association of Retired Persons
can be found Online. The Site offers information on a variety of issues,
including Managed Care and the Elderly. One can orders texts Online: 9
Ways to Get the Most From Your Managed Health Care Plan, Know Your Managed
Care Rights, and Checkpoints for Managed Care: How to Choose A Health Plan.
This Web Site is helpful, however it is geared more to the consumer than
to the researcher.
*** The American Geriatrics Web Site contains relevant information on long term care and managed care. For example, it contains the "Directory of Geriatrics Health Care Services in Managed Care", which is a compilation of a survey that was completed by members of the AGS Managed Care Special Interest Group and others currently responsible for geriatrics programs in managed care organizations.
DOCUMENTS
**** White House Unveils New Long Term Care Initiative
The document explains the President, Vice President, and First Lady's
historic long-term care initiative to support family caregivers and help
address growing long-term care needs. Included in this proposal, which
will be part of the President's FY 2000 budget request to Congress to be
officially announced on February 1, will be a new National Family Caregivers
Support Program that provides a range of critical services for caregivers
such as respite, home care services, and information and referral. This
proposal would be authorized and funded through the Older Americans Act,
administered by the U.S. Administration on Aging. This document addresses
the how long-term care is being handled at the federal level. It is comprehensive
and relatively easy to read.
**** Medicare Managed Care and the Consumer by Bruce Merlin Fried
This document contains a Medicare Managed Care Plans Comparison Database.
In addition, it provides a synopsis of HCFA's Office of Managed Care's
soon to be released publication entitled "National Marketing Guidelines
for Medicare Managed Care Plans. "As of May 1, more than 5.3 million Medicare
beneficiaries are in HMOs, which represents more than 14 percent of the
Medicare program population. Medicare experienced enrollment growth of
more than 25 percent in managed care risk plans in 1995 and 1996, and we
expect this rate of growth to continue. Estimates are that between eight
and nine million Medicare beneficiaries will be in managed care by the
year 2000." This document offers sound advice to the consumer, as well
as updates on the status of Managed Care's role in the elderly population.
**** Ongoing Research: Office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy
This document describes research conducted by (or for) the Office of
Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy. Many projects are represented
on this Site. Each project lists the progress to date and a contact person
if you would like more information. Also listed are the contractor, date
the project will be over and any reports that have been released to date.
Some projects listed are: National Study of Assisted Living for the Frail
Elderly, Assessment of Home Care Benefits used by Holders of Private Long-Term
Care Insurance, Analysis of Employer Group Long-Term Care Insurance, Managed
Delivery Systems for Medicare with Disabilities and Chronic Illness, and
more. This document is quite useful for researchers who wish to be updated
about the current studies in Long-Term Care. It is not, however, very useful
to the layperson.
*** Managed Care and Retirement or Continuing Care Communities
This document talks about the rights of Medicare beneficiaries who are
enrolled in Managed Care. "An increasing number of individuals are electing
to enter retirement, continuing and life care communities. These lifestyle-housing
changes have provided new challenges for managed care plans. The result
is that some of these residents are discovering that managed care plans
will not permit the enrollee to return to the community following an acute
care episode." This article offers tips on how to minimize problems for
Medicare beneficiaries who are managed care enrollees.
*** HMOs Leave Elderly Stranded by Karen Stevenson Brown
The announcement that 33 companies are withdrawing completely from the
Medicare program and another 31 companies are pulling out of certain geographical
areas means that over 400,000 Medicare beneficiaries who opted into Medicare
HMOs will have to find another plan by January 1, 1999. The beneficiaries
impacted by these changes will have to either join another HMO or return
to traditional Medicare. Some will have no alternative but to return to
the traditional Medicare program since there are no remaining Medicare
HMOs in their geographic area. This document is useful because it is an
illustration of the difficulties in providing Managed Care to the Elderly.
| Note: The information below may contain additional relevant materials and documents. Some of the information may be duplicate. The evaluations depend on the both student doing the review and the information contained at the time of the review. Sites are subject to change! |