At-home caregiving comes with personal, financial costs

News outlets examine the costs of care-giving and a new initiative to help Medicaid enrollees stay at home rather than live in nursing homes.

NPR: Discovering The True Cost Of At-Home Caregiving
Few people want to turn over a loved one to institutional care. No matter how good the nursing home, it may seem cold and impersonal -; and very expensive. But making the choice to provide care yourself is fraught with financial risks and personal sacrifices (Geewax, 5/1).

MedPage Today: HHS Announces Homecare Initiatives
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced several Affordable Care Act initiatives aimed at keeping more chronically ill patients at home for care. HHS announced Thursday that it had issued a final rule for the Community First Choice program, which increases the federal Medicaid funding match by 6 percentage points for states that provide home attendants and other forms of support to Medicaid enrollees who would otherwise need to be in a nursing homes (Frieden, 4/30).