Limits In GOP Plan Could Shrink Seniors' Long-Term Health Benefits
Caps in the GOP health plan have huge implications for people over 65. In addition to helping low-income seniors with long-term care, Medicaid helps pay for some of their Medicare premiums and copays.
Before Carmencita Misa became bedridden, she was a veritable "dancing queen," says her daughter, Charlotte Altieri.
"Even though she would work about 60 hours a week, she would make sure to go out dancing once a week — no matter what," Altieri, says. "She was the life-of-the-party kind of person, the central nervous system for all her friends."
A massive stroke in March 2014 changed all that. It robbed Misa, 71, of her short-term memory, her eyesight and her mobility — and it left her dependent on a feeding tube for nourishment. Now, she lives in a nursing home.
Altieri is 39 and lives in Long Beach, Calif., with her. That's California's version of Medicaid, which is government insurance for low-income people.
