Elizabeth New (Hovde) says limiting Medicaid LTC to people in need is not punitive or unjust
Elizabeth New (Hovde)
Washington Policy Center
Right now, qualifying for taxpayer-provided help with services and supports for long-term care (LTC) is too easy. People can appear impoverished when they’re not. And a lack of more aggressive estate recovery efforts helps seal the deal for those wanting to use other taxpayers’ money for their LTC needs, preserving their assets and life savings to pass on to heirs.
Medicaid is not an inheritance-preservation program, but it is being used as such. State and federal lawmakers can and should better protect resources for the vulnerable and contain program costs for taxpayers.
Limiting Medicaid LTC to people in need is not punitive or unjust. The real injustice lies in allowing people with means to use a taxpayer-provided safety net they do not need. Read more about these policy solutions here.
Elizabeth New (Hovde) is a policy analyst and the director of the Centers for Health Care and Worker Rights. She is a Clark County resident.
Also read:
- POLL: With updated estimates reaching as high as $17.7 billion, what should happen to the I-5 Bridge replacement project?
A new poll asks readers how the I-5 Bridge replacement project should proceed amid higher cost estimates and questions about transparency within the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program. - Letter: ‘Walz’s tough talk is a blatant attempt to deflect his complicity in the massive fraud in his state’
Camas resident Anna Miller argues that a governor has no legal authority to deploy the National Guard to interfere with federal law enforcement and criticizes Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s public statements. - Opinion: Not a Good choice
Lars Larson argues that personal choices led to a deadly confrontation with law enforcement during an ICE operation in Minneapolis. - Opinion: ‘The IBR team has been lying to us and thanks to a veteran Oregon journalist, we have the smoking gun’
Ken Vance argues newly obtained documents show Interstate Bridge Replacement staff withheld updated cost estimates from lawmakers and the public. - Opinion: State CO2 report shows 86% of Washington’s claimed climate benefits are probably fake
Todd Myers argues a state climate report significantly overstates emissions reductions and raises concerns about data accuracy and accountability in Washington’s climate spending.
