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Serving Philadelphia, Delaware County, Montgomery County, Bucks County and Chester County since 1996.
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Issue 1, January, 2008
FEATURE ARTICLE - MEDICARE PART B BUY IN: UNDERSTANDING YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS
HEALTHLINE - MAKING HEALTHY CHOICES
LEGALLINE - RENDELL ADMINISTRATION EMBRACES "AGING IN PLACE"
CAREGIVER HELPLINE - ADULT DAY HEALTH PROGRAMS HELP THE CAREGIVER
RENDELL ADMINISTRATION EMBRACES "AGING IN PLACE"
Through its Nursing Home Transition Program, the Rendell administration has beefed up funding of home assistance programs intended to keep people out of nursing homes and is preparing financial incentives to encourage nursing homes to eliminate skilled-care beds. New assisted living regulations are being developed that will add government financing for people who require less than nursing home care. Use of alternative living options will make the government's long-term care dollars stretch further, said Michael Hall, Deputy Secretary of long-term living for Pennsylvania. "If we are spending $70,000 or $80,000 a year on a nursing home bed, and I can take that bed offline, I can buy a heck of a lot of home and community-based services and help a lot more people," Mr. Hall said. "It's about rebalancing the system and services so we have a healthier array of more cost-effective services that do better at meeting consumers' preferences." Nursing home occupation has declined slightly the past two years in Pennsylvania, to about 80,000 beds. Subsidies for home and community assistance have more than doubled in the last five years. The trend is in the direction sought by the Rendell administration, after recognizing earlier this decade that the state's imbalance towards institutional care was among the most lopsided in the nation. State officials have informed the nursing home industry that it will financially assist those who want to shift their emphasis to other types of care. "A lot of folks in the nursing home industry understand the market place is shifting and the demand for home and community based services - and more independent living settings than nursing homes typically allow for - is growing, "Mr. Hall said. The Pennsylvania legislature and the governor have created the Senior Care and Services Study Commission which will begin work this year to outline what the future of long-term care services and funding will be in Pennsylvania.
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