Minnesota’s Department of Human Services recently announced it will receive $58 million in federal money that will help the state’s seniors and disabled individuals remain in community settings if they’d rather not move into a nursing home.
The federal funding is targeted at providing home care services that could save the state money in the long term by keeping seniors and those with disabilities out of higher-cost settings where Medicaid is picking up the tab, reports the StarTribune.
“The initiative is part of a broader state effort, known as ‘Reform 2020,’ to rein in the ballooning costs of caring for the estimated 350,000 Minnesotans who are elderly or disabled and receive assistance from the state,” says the article. “Taken together, the elderly and disabled populations represent nearly 30 percent of those enrolled in Medicaid in Minnesota, but account for nearly 70 percent of the program’s expenditures.”
Minnesota’s current long-term care system is “unsustainable” without reform, said the DHS Commissioner in regards to its Medicaid program, which spent $8.24 billion during the last fiscal year.
Supporting resources that facilitate aging in place for seniors and disabled people can help the state- and federally-funded Medicaid program save money, the DHS believes.
The state plans to provide more direct care to seniors and their families navigating the long-term care system and seek home care services, says the StarTribune. Funding will also be routed to nonprofits that provide meals, transportation, and other services enabling people to remain at home.
Read the full article at the StarTribune.
Written by Alyssa Gerace
