Empowering Minnesotans to plan and pay for long-term health needs…

 

From Aging Services of Minnesota and Care Providers of Minnesota:

Imagine an 85 year old woman who has been progressively receiving more care at home from family and paid caregivers. As her needs have grown in recent years, she has exhausted the limits of family and in-home support and is beginning to feel isolated from her community. She has decided it’s time to move into a setting that provides support services. Her family will pay with their own money for Mom to be in the community of her choice. However, before they can sign a lease, a new law now requires that Mom talk with someone at the State to get a certification number that permits this move.

 

This law – among many passed behind closed doors in the wee hours of the morning – will require government counseling for any individual before they can sign a lease in a Housing with Services establishment (e.g., assisted living, senior housing , supportive living). While the goal of delivering useful and available information is a laudable one, the new law misses the mark in many ways and is emblematic of a much larger problem we have in our approach to planning for long-term care, both as individuals and as a state.

 

There is no doubt that the most pressing issues we face today are directly linked to our aging population. Government simply cannot continue to be the primary source of funding for longterm health care. We are on an unsustainable path. We need a game-changer.  The ultimate game-changer would be a system that empowers more individuals to take greater responsibility for planning and financing their long-term care, decades before they will actually need any services. This not only will shift the cost burden away from government, but more importantly – it will put more control back in the hands of individuals and families.

 

What we don’t need is a bigger role for government and added bureaucracy in the form of a state mandate, particularly for a service that 85 percent of people pay for with their own money.

 

The idea that better information can help consumers make better decisions, and perhaps save the state dollars, is right on. Minnesota leads the nation both in quality and access to a wide array of long-term care options. Resources that make it easier for consumers to navigate their choices are most certainly a part of the solution.

 

Unfortunately, the new mandatory counseling law gets the timing all wrong by requiring counseling at the very last minute, when a person’s needs are immediate and they are ready to move into a new setting.

 

The average age of an individual entering assisted living is 85 years old – by this time, most have already have lived at home as long as possible, exhausted family and community support and now need a higher level of care. A state requirement to receive counseling when individuals and families have immediate needs or face a crisis situation is not likely to provide the kind of financial planning benefits the law is designed to deliver.   The time to start planning for a college education isn’t on high school graduation day. It starts years earlier with research, conversations about goals, assessment of financial resources, exploring support that might come from family or friends.

 

Planning for long-term health care is no different – we just aren’t talking about it. Rather than seeking ways to encourage individuals and families to plan for their future needs, the legislature created a larger role for government that sends a disturbing message: when one becomes a “senior citizen” they are no longer able to make smart decisions without government intervention.

 

Lawmakers from both parties agree that this law must be re-examined in the next legislative session. Let’s go back to the drawing board and discuss more effective ways to make it easier for Minnesotans to take more responsibility and have greater control over their long-term health needs.

Gayle Kvenvold is president and CEO of Aging Services of Minnesota and Patti Cullen is president and CEO of Care Providers of Minnesota. Together, these organizations represent the Long-Term Care Imperative.

Commissioner Jesson Responds to Imperative Letter on Mandatory Consultation

In late August, the Long-Term Care Imperative wrote DHS Commissioner Lucinda Jesson regarding Aging Services of Minnesota’s concerns with the mandatory consultation/LTC Options Counseling law. They raised a number of concerns including personal autonomy, privacy, provisions for emergencies and short stays, surrogate decision-makers, and other issues (see Aging Services of Minnesota’s letter for details).

In her response, Commissioner Jesson says, “We understand that this initiative needs to strike a delicate balance between its intent to provide information to all persons seeking to sign a lease with a housing-with-services setting and not being intrusive into peoples’ lives.” Her letter goes on to state clearly that clients can refuse or decline the counseling and goes on to say “there is no penalty, nor intent, to bar anyone from receiving services or signing a lease.” However, Aging Services notes that we expect that there will be penalties for providers who execute leases without obtaining the clients’ verification code. Click here to read Jesson’s entire response.

One of the Imperative’s concerns is the ongoing capacity of Senior LinkAge Line^R to be able to respond to consumer calls within one business day–which is the current policy. Jesson states that the Minnesota Board on Aging will continue to monitor response time.

The letter includes no new information regarding whether Senior LinkAge Line^R will require any verification of identity for someone calling on behalf of a prospective tenant. Nor has the definition of subsidized housing, which has an exemption from the consultation requirement, been determined.

Aging Services remains opposed to the new law. While the law will take effect on Oct.1, 2011, Aging Services is actively lobbying our Legislature on this issue. Because the proposal never received a public hearing of any kind prior to its passage, many lawmakers are unfamiliar with this law. As we talk with lawmakers over the interim, it is clear that once lawmakers understand that the requirement to obtain a verification code prior to moving into housing-with-services establishment applies to anyone, regardless of payor source, there is growing opposition to the law. We urge you to discuss this issue with your legislator prior to the 2012 Legislative Session.

Article from: Aging Services of Minnesota which Welcome Home Management is a member.

Mixed Results, Mixed Messages for Seniors: One-Time Relief for Some, Long-Term Challenges for All, More Government Intrusion in Personal Decisions

New mandatory transition counseling inserts government appointed counselors into seniors’ personal housing choices

The Legislature and Governor Dayton sent mixed messages in the details of their HHS budget agreement. While the agreement does not cut nursing home rates in this biennium and provides a small amount of relief for a small number of nursing homes, it also repeals a critical payment reform measure adopted in 2007 that in practical terms will cut $133 million in promised payments to nursing homes starting in 2013.
The budget also includes significant cuts to cost-saving home and community-based services, while creating a new layer of government bureaucracy by making counseling with a government employee mandatory for all seniors seeking home and community-based care services, including seniors seeking care with their own private resources.

Just a day away….(MN state shutdown) UPDATED

photo courtesy: Roman Bloemke

With a possible state shutdown just a couple of days away, there is an ongoing fear about what will happen with Medicaid payments to providers.  Over the past two weeks, there has been a lot of jostling for position by both sides.

Through the work of Aging Services of Minnesota and the Long Term Care Imperative, they were able to get Governor Dayton to make adjustments in his brief to Ramsey County that would include these services as an essential service.

This morning (Wednesday), Pat Kessler from WCCO-TV reports that a Ramsey County judge orders govt programs to continue in shutdown: Medicaid, food stamps, nursing/vets homes, health services. Ramsey County Judge Gearin’s government shutdown order funds only limited services; reflects Dayton plan.

This is really good news for older adults and providers in the state who were preparing for the unknown.

UPDATE:

“On behalf of the nearly 60,000 Minnesotans and their families who rely on dedicated caregivers for daily care and support, we are relieved by the court’s ruling,” said Gayle Kvenvold, president and CEO of Aging Services of Minnesota. “However, a shutdown will not be pain-free. We need a responsible state budget that will protect Minnesota’s most vulnerable adults.”

HHS Budget Conference Committee Proposes Drastic Cuts to Elderly Waiver Program

Wanted to share this from Aging Services of Minnesota:

Last week the Health and Human Services Budget Conference Committee completed “phase one” of their budget process, by completing a conference committee bill. The committee does not plan to close up the bill and immediately send this bill to the Governor. Rather, the intent was to reconcile differences between the House and Senate positions so that they can negotiate a final deal with the Governor. Some items in the bill, if ultimately adopted in negotiations with the Governor, would have major implications for older adult services.

For older adult services, the results are decidedly mixed. The Elderly Waiver program is proposed to take a devastating $32.4 million in cuts. While we knew that the EW program was vulnerable to cuts in this budget bill, this was somewhat of an unexpected move by the conference committee, as it essentially adopted all of the cuts to the EW program proposed by the House and all of the cuts to the EW program proposed by the Senate, making the outcome worse than what was originally in either bill.

Hundreds of Seniors and Caregivers Rock the State Capitol to Urge Lawmakers to Prioritize Funding for Senior Care

Residents and staff from Orchard Hill, Potter Ridge, and Twin Town Villa attend the rally at the state capitol. Photo: Roman Bloemke

Residents and staff from Welcome Home communities gathered with hundreds of seniors, care providers, and long-term care supporters from throughout Minnesota Rallied at the Minnesota state capitol today to urge state legislators to take in to account the shifting state demographics and prioritize the budgets to meet the needs of seniors – the fastest growing segment of the state’s population.

Residents and staff made the trip for the rally and then meet with their legislators from, Orchard Hill in New Ulm, Potter Ridge in Red Wing,  Twin Town Villa in Breckenridge and staff from Welcome Home Health Care attended today’s rally.

The rally included speakers representing seniors, caregivers and legislative leaders, and featured Alive and Kickin’ – a senior rock and roll choir.

“As our elected officials, state legislators are charged with the mission of balancing the state budget,” said Robert Dahl, board chair of Aging Services of Minnesota.  “Yet even in tough economic times, there are values and expectations that need to remain as priorities, and one of these is making sure older adult services are available for vulnerable and elderly Minnesotans.

There is growing concern over jobs that are especially felt in rural communities across the state, where older adult service providers are often among the largest employers in the area.

Governor Dayton Holds Roundtable Discussion on Older Adult Services

Gov. Dayton and Sarah Work from WHMC (photo courtesy: Roman Bloemke)

On Tuesday, Governor Mark Dayton held a roundtable discussion regarding the impact of budget proposals on older adult services and the elderly in St. Paul. 

In a roundtable discussion, Dayton sat with providers of older adult services, a senior who is currently receiving services, a paid caregiver and a family caregiver and heard about the struggle to provide quality care, a history of state cuts to older adult services, overstretched caregivers and concerns about access to services for the elderly in the wake of a growing senior population.

Chuck Heidbrink, President, Cerentiy Senior Care, reminded the Governor that serving seniors with home and community based services through programs such as Elderly Waiver is extremely cost effective.  “You can serve three seniors in the community for the cost of serving one senior in a nursing home.” 

Are you ready to rally?

When legislators return to St. Paul next week from their Easter/Passover break, they will have just three weeks left in the regular legislative session. All session long, members from Aging Services of Minnesota, have helped make seniors a priority at the capitol, but they need your help to make the biggest impression at the capitol in these last few weeks. That is why we are asking you to come help us rally in support of older adult services on Tuesday, May 3, 10 – 10:45 a.m. on the front steps of the State Capitol (the event will be moved to the Capitol Rotunda in the event of rain).

The event will feature senior

House HHS Budget Bill Passes House Floor

Last week, the House passed the omnibus Health and Human Services budget bill (HF 927). Debate lasted over 10 hours, and the final vote on the bill occurred at 2:30 a.m. with a 70-62 vote. The bill includes $1.6 billion in cuts to health and human services, including $4.4 million in cuts to care centers and $27.4 million in cuts to the Elderly Waiver program. 

The bill includes $27.4 million in cuts to the Elderly Waiver program. The majority of the cut comes from a 10 percent reduction to component rates for Customized Living. Previously, the bill did not include language that correlated to that cut, but the savings are being tracked on the spreadsheet and the language was added on the House floor as a “technical amendment.”

Welcome Home visits with Minnesota legislators

Trincy Faas, Linda Beyers (Potter Ridge Assisted Living-Red Wing) and Roman Bloemke (Welcome Home Health Care-Hutchinson)

This past week, we were privileged to join with 300 other senior living providers at the Minnesota state Capitol as we visited with our state representatives.  Visiting from Welcome Home were Linda Beyers, RN and Trincy Faas, Director of Resident Services at Potter Ridge Assisted Living from Red Wing, Minnesota; Loree Besser, Director of Resident Services at Excelsior Place Assisted Living from Baxter, Minnesota; and Roman Bloemke, Director of Operations from Welcome Home Health Care from Hutchinson, Minnesota.

At the heart of our meeting were the proposed changes to the Elderly Waiver program and its impact on our residents, our team members, and to the overall local economy.