Leaving nursing home for a home of his own
September 20th, 2009
From the New York Times:
A growing number of states are teaming up with Medicaid to help elderly people and those with disabilities move out of nursing homes and back into their communities.
Walter Brown, 72, says the transition to his own home has dramatically improved his life. Brown, who had a stroke two years ago, said living in a nursing home was “like being in jail.” Now he says he is “more confident in my future.”
The new programs in 29 states are a sharp departure from past practices, in which Medicaid practically steered people into nursing homes. Each participating state has designed its own program, called Money Follows the Person. The federal government provides extra funding for the first year.
“Medicaid has had an institutional bias in favor of nursing homes,” even for people who do not need them, said Gene Coffey, a staff lawyer at the nonprofit National Senior Citizens Law Center. “Federal law requires states to provide nursing home services. They don’t have to provide home or community-based services.”
(Photo from the New York Times)
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