Congressmen ask SSA to tell people Medicare does not cover long term care
More than three dozen House members on Aug. 2 sent a letter to the Social Security Administration asking the agency to clarify that Medicare does not cover long-term care, CQ HealthBeatreports. The bipartisan letter urges SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue toinclude in Social Security statements sent annually to 143 million U.S.residents the sentence: “Medicare generally does not pay for long-termcare.”
The statement currently says that Medicare providessome coverage for “nursing care,” which the lawmakers wrote “creates anunnecessary risk that individuals will assume Medicare covers anextended stay in a nursing home, when in fact it does not.” WhileMedicare covers care delivered in skilled nursing facilities forbeneficiaries who require longer-term medical treatment, it does notpay for custodial care, such as assistance with eating, bathing andother daily living activities. A December 2006 AARP survey found that 59% of adults ages 45 and older overestimated Medicare coverage for long-term care.