Americans gave nursing homes a D+ for the quality of care, and the majority said they would be uncomfortable having themselves or a loved one admitted to such a facility, according to a new West Health-Gallup poll. Quality of care, cost, and the potential emotional and mental toll of nursing-home living were the top concerns. The perceived safety of nursing homes also was a concern.
Read: Nursing home? No thanks. 70% of people surveyed would rather not. “At the end of the day, people don’t want to be in a nursing home,” said Tim Lash, president of West Health and chair of the West Health Policy Center. West Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on improving care and lowering costs for older adults. The survey, which was conducted by Gallup, comes in the wake of the pandemic, when early COVID-19 deaths were heavily concentrated among older people and many of these deaths occurred in nursing homes. “Cost has been a concern, but concerns around quality and safety were even more troubling,” Lash said. Medicaid, the public public health insurance program for people with low income, is the primary source of payment for 62% of nursing home residents. To qualify for Medicaid, those residents essentially must have no remaining assets or income. “It’s a vulnerable population that is hostage to that environment,” …
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Read: Nursing home? No thanks. 70% of people surveyed would rather not. “At the end of the day, people don’t want to be in a nursing home,” said Tim Lash, president of West Health and chair of the West Health Policy Center. West Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on improving care and lowering costs for older adults. The survey, which was conducted by Gallup, comes in the wake of the pandemic, when early COVID-19 deaths were heavily concentrated among older people and many of these deaths occurred in nursing homes. “Cost has been a concern, but concerns around quality and safety were even more troubling,” Lash said. Medicaid, the public public health insurance program for people with low income, is the primary source of payment for 62% of nursing home residents. To qualify for Medicaid, those residents essentially must have no remaining assets or income. “It’s a vulnerable population that is hostage to that environment,” …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]