Baby Boomers U. S. (The Blog)

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The future of health care for baby boomers Posted: 19 Aug 2012 04:17 AM PDT The real BBUS post can be found here… The future of health care for baby boomers by Joe Hauckes © Baby Boomers U. S. (The Blog) . This is a Guest Post by Danielle Rodabaugh is the chief editor at SuretyBonds.com. If you would like to Guest Post for Baby Boomers US, check out our Guest Post for Us page. As time progresses, each generation constantly re-evaluates its current health care concerns as well as potential problems. The Supreme Court’s recent ruling to uphold the Affordable Care Act has spurred a great deal of discussion about our health care system as a whole, whether it be critical or congratulatory. With an influx of baby boomers who will have access to health insurance for the first time in years, if not ever, it’s safe to assume new medical practices and other health facilities will be established. So what does this mean for the quality of health care services that will be provided to baby boomers? Back in 2001, the U.S. Department of Health and Human services published a report called “ Improving the Health and Health Care of Older Americans.” The Task Force on Aging compiled the report to investigate the government’s ability to research the quality of elderly care. The report’s rationale explains, “An aging population, together with rising health care costs and rapid health system change, presents a major challenge in the delivery of health care to older Americans.” In the report’s conclusion, the task force made the following two recommendations, among others, on how we might improve health care for the elderly, which, of course, includes the baby boomer generation. Designate older adults as a priority population. Undertake a major initiative to improve the health and health care of older Americans. As such, one topic that has remained at the forefront of the health care discussion is not only how the government can guarantee adequate care for all elderly citizens but also protect them from health care professionals who might try to take advantage of them, their finances or their loved ones during health care crises. In the past few years, the government has taken some crucial steps to eliminating such problems by establishing new regulations within the health care industry. For example, in 2009 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid set federal surety bond requirements for manufacturers and suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS). These new Medicare bond requirements were established to curb medical fraud and malpractice in the DMEPOS market. If DMEPOS manufacturers or suppliers commit fraud when working with consumers or break the bond’s terms in other ways, the amount can be used to reimburse harmed parties. Elderly consumers who work with DMEPOS companies no longer have to fear the validity of providers they choose to work with, which had been a huge concern for baby boomers prior to 2009. Similarly, the recent use of patient trust bonds keep nursing homes and other long term care facilities from mismanaging patients’ funds. These bonds are typically required of any organization or business that provides health care services to patients — whether they work in facilities or homes. As with Medicare bonds, these bonds provide a means of financial recovery should a health care professional choose to act unethically and steal — or otherwise misappropriate — patient funds from a trust. The bond’s funds give patients and their families a guaranteed way through which they can access due compensation. These new bonding requirements indicate that various government agencies at both the federal and state levels have taken the initiative to protect baby boomers from fraudulent health care professionals since the report was released just over 10 years ago. Of course there will always be room for improvement when it comes to ensuring quality health care for baby boomers, but these changes, among many others, show that we’re on the right track. About the Author: Danielle Rodabaugh is the chief editor at SuretyBonds.com, a nationwide surety insurance company that works with business owners and health care providers. Danielle writes on behalf of the company’s educational outreach program, which aims to provide valuable information to consumers in a wide array of industries. © Baby Boomers US Blog If you are reading this anywhere other than our RSS Feed Please notify us at blog.boomersus@gmail.com You may also want to join the Baby Boomers US Forum for conversations by Baby Boomers about topics important to Baby Boomers!

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