September 17, 2020 John O'Connor
The
government’s Office of Management and Budget is reviewing a proposal that would
let beneficiaries decouple federal benefits that are conjoined.
Specifically,
beneficiaries could decline Medicare Part A without forfeiting their Social
Security retirement benefits. Medicare Part A covers some home health care, as
well as hospice care and inpatient hospital care.
When
the change was laid out in a White House executive order last October, several
beneficiary advocates took issue. The Center for Medicare Advocacy claimed that
the change would undermine the program’s universality, while also possibly
ushering in additional changes.
Even
among proponents, there is a general consensus the White House is unlikely to
move forward on enacting the policy change before the November election.
John O'Connor is the editorial director, vice president and
associate publisher of McKnight's Senior Living and McKnight's Long-Term Care
News. He joined McKnight's in 1990. He is a graduate of the University of
Illinois, where he was introduced to journalism, late-night bull sessions and
many of his closest friends. Before McKnight's, John worked at a weekly
newspaper in Chicago. An avid reader and sports fan, he has a weakness for
magazines, biographies and almost anything containing chocolate. John lives in
the Chicago area with his wife, Layne, and their two children.
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