February 18, 2004
ROMNEY WANTS TO HELP SENIORS STAY IN THEIR HOMES
New HOME program allows seniors to grow old with dignity
Saying too many of the Commonwealth’s senior citizens enter nursing homes prematurely, Governor Mitt Romney today pledged to help them stay in their own homes for as long as possible. Romney launched a new initiative called Helping Our Massachusetts Elders (HOME), which will provide alternatives to nursing home care.
“We need to give seniors the help they need to stay in their homes as long as possible. With a little help, we can keep seniors in their own home instead of putting them into what for many turns out to be an inappropriate institutionalized setting,” said Romney.
He added, “Our goal is to help meet the needs of our elders as they define them, not as a government bureaucracy defines them.”
The HOME program has two components: a new $4 million trust fund to support programs that enable elders to remain in their own homes or congregate community housing and a voluntary managed care program that emphasizes preventative care to keep seniors out of hospitals and nursing homes.
Currently the Commonwealth provides a range of health and social services to approximately 1.1 million elders in Massachusetts, but its outdated elder care system puts too many seniors in nursing homes prematurely. Massachusetts has 72 nursing home beds for every 1,000 people age 65 and over. Nationwide, there are only 54 nursing home beds for every 1,000 people age 65 and over.
The HOME trust fund is part of a $133.1 million supplemental budget bill the Governor filed today. An interagency task force comprised of representatives from the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the Executive Office of Elder Affairs and the Department of Housing and Community Development will be authorized to expend funds from the trust to support models of care that best meet the needs of individual seniors.
“We owe it to our seniors to provide them with the highest possible standard of care. Our administration is determined to fight for the kind of services that will maintain the level of dignity and respect to which our seniors rightfully deserve,” said Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey.
Romney also announced preliminary details of the voluntary Senior Care Options program. It will authorize, deliver and coordinate all services currently covered by Medicare and Medicaid, including primary, acute and specialty care, community and institutional long-term care, behavioral health, medical transportation and pharmaceuticals. In his Fiscal Year 2005 budget, Romney proposed spending $140 million in state and federal Medicaid money on the new program.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Ron Preston said the goal is to better coordinate the fragmented medical, psychiatric and social services offered to low income seniors covered by Medicaid and Medicare.
“The task force coordinates both housing supports and services, which has been an essential combination for other states that have made progress in allowing seniors to stay in their homes and community,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Ron Preston.
“These new initiatives complement the ongoing work of Elder Affairs, the Administration and the senior network by enhancing the options and continuum of care available to seniors,” said Elder Affairs Secretary Jennifer Davis Carey.
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