CMA Health Policy Blog

Profits Over People

September 26, 2014 at 8:10 pm Judith Stein Leave a comment

In “Fighting to Honor a Father’s Last Wish: To Die at Home” (the New York Times, September 25, 2014) author Nina Bernstein eloquently lays out the heartbreaking story of Joseph Andrey, whose last year of life was spent shuttling between inadequate care in every possible care setting.  Often the services he received were provided in the most expensive available setting, regardless of the wishes of the family.  Mr. Andrey finally died back in his home, but that final year of his life, quite likely the lowest quality-of-life year he ever endured, cost over a million dollars in Medicare, Medicaid and private funds.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Unfortunately, too often it is. I have devoted over 30 years as a lawyer to Medicare advocacy, yet I could not help my uncle when his Medicare coverage was prematurely ended in the hospital and the nursing home. This resulted in his ending up at home with inadequate care, and he, too, experienced many of the dreadful occurrences that befell Mr. Andrey. A day after his death, and almost a year after his premature discharge, we won his Medicare appeal. Like too many others, he died after poor care and unfair denials from his private Medicare plan. Another victim of profits over people.

Entry filed under: Access to Health Care, Fiscal Responsibility, Health Care Reform, Help for Low Income People, long-term care, Nursing Home Rights, Wastes. Tags: inadequate care, judith stein, new york times, Nina Bernstein.