LTC Bullet: Protecting What Matters

Friday, May 15, 2026

Seattle—

LTC Comment: Today’s LTC Bullet is a shout out to LTC insurance maven and radio-talk-show host Barry Fisher along with a link to our latest online conversation, after the ***news.***

*** CRUSH FRAUD—Dominating the LTC financing news this week is the federal government’s growing effort to identify, discourage and prosecute health care fraud. Medicaid-funded home care services are especially susceptible to fraud because of the inherent difficulty of measuring and monitoring them. LTC Clippings recently highlighted some of the fraud news. Examples follow. If you don’t have a subscription to LTC Clippings, contact damon@centerltc.com or call 206-283-7036. Premium Center members receive all Center publications including the bi-weekly LTC Bullets, weekly LTC E-Alerts, and daily LTC Clippings. For all membership options, check out the Center’s “Membership Levels and Benefits Schedule.”

5/13/2026, “White House cuts $1.3 billion in Medicaid payments to California,” by Robert King, Politico
Quote: “The Trump administration is withholding $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements to California for failing to combat fraud, escalating a feud with the state over its management of hospice care. … Though the administration has repeatedly criticized California’s fraud oversight, this is the first time the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has targeted payments to the state.”
LTC Comment: Do you think that’s excessive? Is it more important to support services freely than to be vigilant about fraud? That’s the attitude of some who criticize the current crackdown. Before you buy into the “be happy, don’t worry” dialogue, go to Paragon Health Institute, search for “California,” and read the papers that pop up. Check out Paragon’s Health Care Fraud Dashboard. And don’t miss Paragon president Brian Blase’s interview of Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of CMS.

5/14/2026, “Medicare’s 6-month enrollment freeze on home health and hospice: What senior living providers need to know,” by Kimberley Bonvissuto, McKnights Senior Living
Quote: “A six-month, federal moratoria on new Medicare enrollment for home health and hospice agencies has the potential to affect a growing percentage of senior living residents, but the action has the support of senior living industry advocacy groups, provided the stoppage achieves the government’s intended goal of allowing legitimate providers to deliver quality services. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the moratoria on Wednesday, effective immediately, in an effort to ‘protect Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayer dollars.’ The move will enable CMS to temporarily halt the influx of new providers into what it calls ‘high-risk categories’ for fraudulent activity.”
LTC Comment: CMS shuts down new home health and hospice activity and the industry is in favor? Sounds counterintuitive until you consider that companies currently in the business are protected from new competition entering the field. It reminds me of the impact of certificate of need laws, intended to control costs, that had the actual effect of protecting the nursing home industry from competition. Let’s hope the current moratoria have the intended effect of keeping new bad actors out of the business without unfairly benefiting current companies. ***

LTC BULLET: PROTECTING WHAT MATTERS

LTC Comment: Barry Fisher, of Blaze ‘n Bear Insurance Services, Inc., is a longtime friend and fellow fighter to improve long-term care. Barry’s insurance career spans more than four decades working in the field of personal financial well-being and responsibility. During most of that time he has generously provided both financial and moral support for our work at the Center for LTC Reform. With broad expertise in life, disability and long-term care insurance he works with individuals, business owners and allied professionals helping them provide protection for themselves and those they care about. Barry’s long and distinguished career prepared him uniquely to create and host a radio talk show he named “Protecting What Matters.”

“Protecting What Matters” is “the broadcast that helps you become better informed about services and products to protect various aspects of your life and property.” Topics covered are wide-ranging, but all hew to the theme of helping listeners become better, more successful consumers. Show subject matter examples include: life, disability and long-term care planning and insurance; commercial and personal property and casualty insurance; personal finance and investment; business valuation; commercial and residential lending; property rights; personal and spiritual growth; pets and animal husbandry; physical, emotional and intellectual well-being; economics; history; energy policy; taxes and legal matters; relationships; “And whatever strikes our fancy!”

Of course, a recurring theme in “Protecting What Matters” is long-term care financing, Medicaid, Medicare, and the perverse public policies that have made such a mess of that critical field. Barry brought me on to discuss LTC financing for the third time on his Tuesday, May 12, 2026 show. You can hear what we had to say here. Just scroll down until you see the Audio Player. Our section on LTC begins at 27 minutes, 24 seconds into the program.

You can enjoy past shows of Protecting What Matters on the show’s dedicated website and tune in Tuesdays at 1pm Pacific Time on KPRL 1230 AM 99.3FM or listen to the live feed here.