skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

AARP: Indiana 47th in Meeting Long-Term Care Needs

play audio
Play

Thursday, September 8, 2011   

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - A new AARP scorecard ranks Indiana 47th in the nation for how well states manage long-term care services and support systems. Paul Chase, public policy director with AARP Indiana, says it's costing the state more in the long run by not adequately funding existing programs, like "CHOICE" and the Medicaid waiver, that keep people out of nursing homes.

"We can do a lot better at expanding home-care services, making sure that we're taking care of people's needs - where they want to be taken care of, giving people more independence - more choice in terms of their own needs."

Chase says right now, Medicaid pays for at least 62 percent of all nursing home care in the state. The AARP scorecard looks at affordability and access, choice of setting and provider, quality of life, quality of care and support for family caregivers.

State Sen. Vaneta Becker (R-Evansville) points out that Indiana has not increased the budget line for home and community-based services since 2004.

"We rely too much on nursing home care and not enough on home- and community-based services, where people can remain more independent and live in their own home as long as possible."

With CHOICE (Community and Home Options to Institutional Care for the Elderly and Disabled), it costs $7,200 a year to take care of someone in their home, Becker says, versus $50,000 a year in a nursing home. She says the federal government picks up two-thirds of the nursing home costs for Medicaid, but it is financed through tax dollars.

Chase says the state has refused to fully fund programs like Medicaid waivers, which require an up-front investment but save taxpayer dollars overall by keeping people out of nursing homes. He adds that the state also continues to trim the state-funded CHOICE program, even though it provides services similar to the Medicaid waiver at a fraction of the cost.

"CHOICE is a great state program. It's a very cost-effective program. Yet, each budget cycle we have to fight tooth and nail to keep them from cutting funding for it."

On the positive side, the scorecard shows 85 percent of Hoosiers with disabilities living in the community are satisfied with their lives. Chase says the Area Agencies on Aging offer one-stop access to information about available long-term care programs.

A link to the AARP report is at www.longtermscorecard.org.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021