|
January 17, 2006
Bills expand home health care
More on Medicaid would have alternative to nursing home
By Laura Hipp
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Troupe
Mississippi lawmakers will consider proposals this session that could move more Medicaid patients from nursing homes into their own houses.
The plus for all taxpayers is saving thousands in the Medicaid budget, supporters say. Last year, the program spent $231 million more than it was budgeted.
Both the House and Senate have bills that would allow money used to pay for nursing home stays to fund home health care. "It will save the state money. It will provide more dignity to the elderly and disabled than they've enjoyed," said Public Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Steve Holland, D-Plantersville.
One Jackson resident said the bills could help him receive 24-hour medical care at home. To track a bill
Monitor a bill in the Legislature at http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us /2006/html/mainmenu.htm
Mickey Grace, 57, lived in a nursing home for two years before receiving a waiver to receive 18 hours of medical care at home.
He wants another six hours covered but has been denied.
"I'm fixing to have to go back out there if I can't get more attendant care," said Grace, who is paralyzed from the shoulders down. The state offers three types of waivers to disabled and elderly Medicaid recipients that allow them to live at home. A total of 10,600 waivers are available through June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
"There are people in nursing homes that should never be in nursing homes," said Mary Troupe, executive director of the Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities. "These are real people with real voices." Without the limited waivers, a person with a disability can be sent to a nursing home without the option of home care, Troupe said. Medicaid pays an average of $52,000 annually for an individual's stay at a nursing home. Community-based waivers cost about $20,000 a year.
Medicaid is a federal-state health insurance program that serves roughly one-quarter of the state's population. Agency offices were closed Monday, which was a state holiday, and officials were not available for comment.
In a nursing home, meals are set by schedule and freedom is limited, Grace said. Staying at home boosts morale and allows some to work. Community-based care should be an option for people before entering a nursing home, he said.
People in nursing homes often apply for the home-care waivers. With two leaders of legislative health committees - from different political parties - advocating the idea, the waiver system could be changed.
Holland filed his bill Monday, the deadline for proposed laws and programs.
Sen. Terry Burton, R-Newton, sponsored a Senate version of the proposal. He is vice chairman of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee. Less money for nursing homes could mean fewer beds available for patients who want to be in the institutions, said Ed LeGrand, deputy director of the Department of Mental Health.
Burton said Senate Bill 2582 will not harm nursing homes' bottom lines. Nursing home beds will be filled and more waivers will be available, he said. That would put the state in compliance with a 2005 federal court settlement that mandated improved access to such community-based care.
Several plaintiffs sued over slow access to waivers that allow Medicaid recipients to live at home. They alleged the state was segregating that segment of the population into nursing homes.
"This would change the way we think about those who are most vulnerable," Burton said. "Do we warehouse them as we have done in the past? Or do we give them some choices?"
The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments: Shortcut to: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060117/NEWS010504/601170369
Note: To protect against computer viruses, e-mail programs may prevent sending or receiving certain types of file attachments. Check your e-mail security settings to determine how attachments are handled.
NATIONAL ADAPT MAILING LIST - Adapt MiCASA List http://www.adapt.org | 
