Description: This article is about the most significant issues and trends that may impact long-term care LTC risks, care delivery and protection in the future.

Description: A proposal to reform current health care market, from a 'preferred payer' system, in which Medicare and Medicaid pay less than the true cost while others must then pay more, to a 'value for money' system. This would be achieved by requiring providers to bill all patients the same rate for the same services, with a standard bundling format to make all providers' rate differences transparent. Differences between billed charges and what Medicare pays would be made up by the Medicare patient, rather than subsidized by those outside of Medicare.

Description: High points of AcademyHealth’s LTC group policy seminar are discussed, including the relationship between post-acute care PAC and long-term care bundling PAC payments and the implications of research in this area of long-term care.

Description: The editors of Health Watch have made health care reform the focus of the Sepctember 2009 issue, and provide an introduction to the issue's contents.