Take a Bow!
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2003-07-22 11:52:00-04:00
AARP Ohio Members & Friends Win In-Home Care for Frail Elders
They met with legislators. They testified before Ohio House and Senate committees. They wrote letters. They rallied at the statehouse. They made more than 7,000 calls via the AARP Ohio Long-Term Care Hotline in an effort to convince lawmakers to keep PASSPORT doors open and it worked. AARP Ohio members and friends demonstrated the power to make it better!
Ohio's newly enacted two-year state budget fully funds PASSPORT, eliminating waiting lists and allowing older adults who are eligible for Medicaid-funded long-term care services to receive them in their own homes. It also allows Ohioans who had entered nursing homes when they couldn't wait any longer for PASSPORT services to return home and receive services.
"Thanks to the efforts of AARP members and our friends, Ohio's most vulnerable residents will be able to stay in their own homes and communities," said AARP Ohio State Director Kathy Tefft-Keller. "Your efforts made all the difference and will continue to make a huge difference in the lives of PASSPORT clients and their families. Thank you!"
PASSPORT is the state's Medicaid waiver program. Eligibility requirements are exactly the same for PASSPORT clients and nursing home residents covered by Medicaid. All PASSPORT clients qualify to have Medicaid pay the cost of their care in nursing homes, they are equally as frail and poor. However, in 2002 it cost an average of $4,345 per month for nursing home care compared to $933 per month for PASSPORT clients.
"AARP members and our friends made sure that legislators understand that keeping PASSPORT open and fully funded is the right thing to do for consumers, their families and taxpayers," Tefft-Keller said.
With about 1.5 million citizens over age 65, Ohio ranks seventh nationally in the size of our older population. We have an estimated 450,000 older people with chronic disabilities and about 160,000 of those individuals are classified as severely disabled. The majority of long-term care for this population continues to be provided by family members, friends and neighbors. PASSPORT enrollment currently averages about 760 new clients each month.
Among the services PASSPORT provides are personal care, home-delivered meals and nutrition consultation, adult day care, homemaker and chore assistance, emergency response systems, medical equipment, transportation, access adaptations and independent living assistance, social work and counseling sessions. More information about PASSPORT services, eligibility and enrollment is available from the Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging.
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