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Living Longer, Healthier Lives has Real Consequences for the State Budget
With all of the noise coming out of Washington DC lately, it can be easy to ignore the state's own budgeting and appropriations process. Yet, much of the funding for programs that help us age safely and independently flows through the Executive Office of Aging and Independence and is a mixture of state and federal money. Home Care is one such program, and it has been grossly underfunded for FY2025 and in the draft budget for FY2026.
The Home Care Program enables older adults age 60 and older, as well as people younger than 60 living with Alzheimer’s Disease or a related dementia, to successfully age in place and avoid or delay moving to a nursing home or other long-term care facility. Services available through the Home Care Program include Homemaking, Personal Care, Home Health Aide, Companion, Home Delivered Meals, Adult Day Health and Supportive Day Programs, Respite Care, Medication Assistance, Complex Care Oversight by a nurse, and much more. As we live longer lives in our homes and communities, the demand for the state-funded Home Care Program--as measured in the utilization rates recorded by the Executive Office of Aging and Independence--has been growing by over 9% annually.
Over 95% of older adults would like to continue living in their homes and delaying or avoiding placement in a long term care facility saves the state significant amounts of money. In 2023, the Home Care program provided case management and in-home support to approximately 65,000 individuals. About 1/3 of these individuals were clinically eligible for nursing home care, which--in 2023--cost between $60,000 (for MassHealth members) and $175,000 (private pay) annually. That same year, the average annual home care plan cost ranged from $3,650 to $10,245.
Visit https://agingaccess.org/take-action/ to take action now. You'll have an easy way to write your legislators asking for more funding or share a story about how Home Care has helped you or your family. Your actions now will help ensure adequate funding for the Home Care Program now and in the future.
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