Assisted Living Facing Cuts

The Key Issue of Assisted Living A “Special” MaineCare program was put in place to cover the residents of the seven affordable, subsidized Assisted Living facilities in Maine. The services covered under THIS MaineCare plan include:

• Meals
• Medication administration
• 24 hour /7 day a week staffing
• Personal care
• Light Housekeeping
• Laundry service

MaineCare paid for these services. AS of July 1, 2009, MaineCare will no longer pay for these essential services. Because these essential services will no longer be allowable under MaineCare, the state will assess these residents to see what other services they can have instead. Here is the issue at hand for the residents. Some will qualify for traditional MaineCare: Traditional MaineCare DOES NOT cover:

Meals

Medication administration

24/7 staffing

Light housekeeping

Laundry service

Some WILL NOT qualify for traditional MaineCare. What happens to them? Question: Where and how will the elderly and frail residents receive the above services that they require? A proposed State solution is Home-Based Care. This means a worker coming in a few hours a week:

• NO Medication administration – how will seniors get their pills when they can’t
• manage themselves?
• NO Meals – how will the senior eat when they can’t cook and have limited
• kitchens?
• NO 24/7 assistance – who will answer the bell at 2:00 a.m. when a senior needs help in the bathroom or has an emergency? Who will give medications at 2:00 a.m. as required by some?

These Assisted Living project averages about $56 a day per resident? How much do Home-Based Care and Nursing Home options cost taxpayers?

Comments

[Bonnie Moretto]

How can this be happening. My mother is in assisted living. She is unsafe at home (she has had numerous falls), can't cook her own meals (she has psoratic arthritis and her hands are gnarled and painful) and is having memory problems. she is unsafe by herself. I work full time job plus 2 part time jobs just to support my family. what would become of her if she doesn't have assisted living.

Please let me know how I can help keep this from changing.
Bonnie Moretto bmoretto@roadrunner.com or bonnie@coastalmedtech.com