A
fascinating and innovative program now in its’ early
“pre-trial” stages, has important
implications for the future of senior health care. Known
as “Money Follows the Person”, it is a federally
funded initiative to help income-qualified elderly and people
with disabilities have the choice to receive services at
home or in the community rather than at a nursing facility.
The idea is that Medicaid dollars should not be tied to
a particular institution but instead be utilized where-ever
the individual chooses to receive his or her care. Sometimes
this will mean arranging twenty-four hour in home care,
which traditionally, Medicaid has not paid for. Dawn Lambert,
Project Manager of Money Follows the Person for the State
of Connecticut, feels that this approach is not only cost
effective for taxpayers, but also leads to wonderful improvements
in the quality of life for many seniors and people with
disabilities.
Southbury resident and financial
advisor, Joe Stango, was instrumental in raising awareness
about this issue and lobbying for the program in an attempt
to bring his elderly mother home to be cared for instead
of remaining in a nursing home. Currently, a pilot program
for which 700 people will be chosen over the course of a
five year grant cycle, if successful, it could well become
a national public policy for other income levels. Connecticut’s
Department of Social Services is administering the program
and highlights two significant reasons for its’ importance:
- People served by home and
community-based services report
higher consumer satisfaction and quality of life.
- Medicaid expenditures for
people cared for in the home and
community are approximately half of the expenses incurred
by
a nursing home stay.
The target population for
the program includes Medicaid-eligible individuals who have
been living in one of the following for at least six months:
- nursing facility
- chronic care facility
- intermediate care facility
- institution for mental
diseases
As eligible people submit
their applications, their names will be put in a lottery.
Application forms and information packets will be available
at a later date. Updated information is available by calling
the Money Follows the Person office at (860-424-4897) or
click on the Money Follows the Person link at the Department
of Social Services web site at http://www.ct.gov/dss/site/default.asp.
Dawn Lambert cautions that
there will be many issues and concerns as the plan moves
forward---- housing, if the person leaving a nursing home
is not going back to their own home or to live with family,
availability of adequate health aides and personal care
assistants, and the training and monitoring of personnel.
When announcing receipt of the $24.2 million grant in 2007,
Governor M. Jodi Rell said, “The idea is to use Medicaid
dollars as flexibly as possible to give people more choices
about their living situation”.
While 31 states expect to
take part in the initiative, hopefully, Connecticut will
be able to develop a dynamic program that will be a symbol
of an overall changing direction in public policy.
Jean Cherni
is founder of Senior Living Solutions, a retirement advisory
service. Contact her at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or
15 The Ponds, Branford 06405.
H. Pearce Company REALTORS®
is a full-service real estate company with more than 100
agents and branch offices in greater New Haven and the Shoreline.
Corporate and & Commercial offices are located in North
Haven, where the company was founded in 1958. All listings
can be found in color on the web at: www.hpearce.com. |
