I do have a bit of concern about #M4A covering "nursing homes," but I think theee is an answer to my concerns. Not all nursing homes are created equal in terms of property value, but they should be in terms of medical care. Unfortunately, they're not.
If a nursing home is an older property, there is a strong chance the level of care won't be as "good" as a newer property, it's more of a rule than a law, but in my experience of having family members in nursing homes it's more often the case than it's not. Some nursing homes...
Such as "Sterling House" brands have speciality wards for ALZ patients and are usually expensive properties. The price a patient pays to live in such a place is reflective of the property value. Honestly, it's not fair and another form of economic inequality. M4A could fix this.
If M4A becomes the law, nursing homes should charge two fees, as opposed to just one monthly bill. There should "rent" and "medical". The latter would be paid for by the government, so regardless of property value, this levels the field for quality of care.
Nursing staff at a brand new multimillion dollar property near the suburbs, should be paid as much as those who work in a "small town" aging property in rural America. I don't think it's fair for #M4A to pay the total bill as most places bill out today, which includes "rent".
If this happens, the property owners will likely increase room and board and were on the hook for it. I think the rent should still be paid for by the patient, but it should be fixed in relation to the taxable value of the property. With the money that Americans will be saving...
since they won't be paying for payments, deductibles, copays, etc... it should be much easier to invest into a retirement plan, which could cover nursing home rent. But, if it's not setup this way, then these high end facilities will break the system. Some of them charge $30K/mo!
And that $30K/mo is the fee before medical expenses are tacked onto the total bill. The least we can do is fix the system so the elderly in a $1k/mo facility receives the same level of care as someone in a $30k/mo facility. That's fair to the patients and to the taxpayers.
The only experience I have with this is having family members in the past who were in some pretty sketchy nursing homes. They smelled of cancer, had lazy staffers and we had to constantly worry about their care. I have a grandfather who is now in a top quality place....
He invested in various bonds starting in the 1940s and retired from USMC + second career. He "probably" has enough money to last him the rest of the short life he has left. Every month he signs over two treasury bonds, $10k each, just to make sure he doesn't get bed sores.
It's a shame that those who can't afford that, don't have that kind of medical peace of mind. And it's a shame that people like him, have to pay so much just to hope for another sunrise. He'd be just as happy in an older building, as long as he had the same quality of care.
