Medicaid to Pay for Home Care

With the passage of recent legislation, limited Medicaid funds will now be available to provide assistance for home care and assisted living care.  Link.  This is great news for both seniors, their children, and taxpayers.  While the program may, at first blush, appear to be simply another government welfare give-away, the fact is that many individuals are in nursing homes because their families have no other choice.  Nursing home care is extremely expensive and Medicaid covers those costs, which average over $5,000 per month, for those that cannot afford it.  For those who would be able to stay at home with a little help from others, such as sitters, or assistance provided at assisted living facilities, they could receive care at home or in an assisted living facility with far less cost than a nursing home.  This also will open up nursing home bed for those who are more seriously ill and are in most need of it.  This program, already in trial phases in several counties around the state, will improve the quality of life of those seniors who qualify, will give their children more options and peace of mind, and I believe will ultimately save the state money by shifting seniors from high cost nursing home beds to low cost at-home care.