Ann Neumann Discusses Mercy Killings or Suicide-Homicides (April 15th)
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Listen Now In 2017 more than 47,000 Americans committed suicide. While suicide rates decreased during the 1980s and 1990s, they have increased by 33% over the past two decades. Today they are one of the top ten causes of death. Suicide or suicide-homicides, where the spouse or partner kills their loved one and frequently and immediately themselves, are unsurprising for several reasons. Among others, the US has no universal long term care policy. (The ACA attempted to create a voluntary long term care provision, termed the CLASS Act, but it was never implemented having found to be financially non-viable - some would say intentionally so.) Medicare does not provide long term coverage. The Medicare hospice benefit is de facto time limited (Medicare hospice providers have an annual per beneficiary reimbursement cap, the only Medicare program to impose a spending cap), one has to meet a poverty threshold to qualify for long term care under Medicaid and commercial long term care insurance, if available, is unaffordable for many seniors. This last fact is largely explained by the reality that a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries have annual incomes below $15,000 and an equal percent have savings totaling less than $15,000 and over half of these have no savings or are in debt. Concerning medical aid in dying laws, that present their own limitations, currently only eight states (NJ as of this past week) and DC allow for it.
Ann Neumann Discusses Mercy Killings or Suicide-Homicides (April 15th)
Ann Neumann Discusses Mercy Killings or…
Ann Neumann Discusses Mercy Killings or Suicide-Homicides (April 15th)
Listen Now In 2017 more than 47,000 Americans committed suicide. While suicide rates decreased during the 1980s and 1990s, they have increased by 33% over the past two decades. Today they are one of the top ten causes of death. Suicide or suicide-homicides, where the spouse or partner kills their loved one and frequently and immediately themselves, are unsurprising for several reasons. Among others, the US has no universal long term care policy. (The ACA attempted to create a voluntary long term care provision, termed the CLASS Act, but it was never implemented having found to be financially non-viable - some would say intentionally so.) Medicare does not provide long term coverage. The Medicare hospice benefit is de facto time limited (Medicare hospice providers have an annual per beneficiary reimbursement cap, the only Medicare program to impose a spending cap), one has to meet a poverty threshold to qualify for long term care under Medicaid and commercial long term care insurance, if available, is unaffordable for many seniors. This last fact is largely explained by the reality that a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries have annual incomes below $15,000 and an equal percent have savings totaling less than $15,000 and over half of these have no savings or are in debt. Concerning medical aid in dying laws, that present their own limitations, currently only eight states (NJ as of this past week) and DC allow for it.