The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services could eliminate some funding streams and programs that support older people and their caregivers.
HHS has put State Health Insurance Assistance Programs funding on a list of funding streams that might be cut when it reorganizes its operations.
SHIP funds state offices that help people with questions about Medicare.
HHS may also cut some other programs that have been part of the HHS Administration for Community Living, including the elder falls prevention program; a respite care program, which helps family caregivers get paid care for short periods; and the long-term care ombudsman program, which helps people living in nursing homes and other facilities resolve problems with the facilities.
HHS hopes to keep some Medicare support operations, such as call center services, about the same.
The items appear in an HHS reorganization and budget-cutting proposal outline obtained by Inside Medicine and the Washington Post.
HHS officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the outline.
What it means: The federal government services your older clients and their families use could look a lot different in 2026.
The changes could affect how clients who are using their ordinary investments and annuities to generate retirement income spend that income.
The backdrop: HHS employed about 91,000 people in 923 different agencies and offices in March, and it was on track to spend about $12 billion per year on wages, according to the Department of Government Efficiency.
HHS is trying to reorganize and streamline its operations, cut employees and spending, and make its remaining operations more efficient.
Employees, vendors and grant recipients affected by the streamlining efforts have challenged some of the moves in court.
Outline details: HHS is thinking about cutting some elder support efforts because it wants to eliminate their parent, the Administration for Community Living; put many of that agency's bigger programs under the oversight of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and eliminate some of the agency's programs.
The outline drafters note that the federal government would continue to provide large grants for the states and that the states could use the grant money to keep services such as state SHIP offices and caregiver respite care programs in place.
In a Medicare section, outline drafters suggest that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would continue to send new Medicare enrollees print versions of the Medicare and You handbook and that CMS mail enrollees three coverage summary notices per year.
The drafters hope to maintain enough staffing at the 1-800-Medicare call center to keep call response times similar to what they are now.
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