Even though most older Americans would prefer to receive care at home rather than in nursing homes, many states have been slow to reform their Medicaid programs to make that choice widely available. Instead, most states have done a much better job of using Medicaid dollars to help people with developmental disabilities remain in their homes and communities than to help older people and adults with physical disabilities.
Those are among the findings in A Balancing Act: State Long-Term Care Reform, a report released July 11 by the AARP Public Policy Institute. The report is the first ever to examine Medicaid spending specifically for older people and adults with physical disabilities, as distinct from other groups needing long-term care.
The study yielded surprising data. “We really didn’t realize how far behind services for older people were, compared to services for people with developmental disabilities,” says Enid Kassner, the institute’s director of independent living and long-term care, and lead author on the report.
To read more: http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourhealth/caregiving/articles/too_few_seniors_get.html