On the Brink

The good news:  Mary Keenan of Somerville is in remission from cancer, after a three year battle. 

The bad news: The life-saving medicine she needs costs $3,900 for a 30-day supply. 

Previously, Keenan counted on Prescription Advantage, the state’s pharmacy assistance program, for help.  But, earlier this year, budget cuts eliminated part of her benefit – and she had to make copayments for the drug on her own.  Living on a small, fixed income, Keenan’s only option was to rack up credit card debt until Prescription Advantage kicked back in.   She still doesn’t know how she’ll handle the bills.

 

Services Slashed

Keenan is just one example of how state budget cuts have hurt vulnerable older persons in Massachusetts.  Thirty thousand Bay State seniors lost coverage from Prescription Advantage alone.  Some, like Keenan, struggled financially to continue taking the medicine that keeps them healthy – and out of even more expensive care.  Others, however, have been forced to forgo treatment.

           

Then, there is home care.

 

Rollin Lane, 82, of Leominster knows what it means to wait.  Suffering from limited mobility, he needs help with some basic activities of daily living so he can remain independent, at home – and continue to care for his daughter, who has Down Syndrome. 

 

In April, Lane was approved by the state to receive respite care, one of the important services provided under the home care umbrella.  But, he didn’t get assistance right away; instead, Lane got a number, 77, and a place on the waiting list.  Six months and a second hip replacement later, he still cannot get help, remains waiting for home care – along with more than 1,000 others – and worries about what he will do. 

 

Penny-Wise, Pound-Foolish

As Gov. Deval Patrick (D) undertakes yet another round of cost-cutting measures to keep the budget balanced in these hard recessionary times, AARP says: The decimation of elder services must stop.  Operating below bare-bone, services have been pared and pared again, leaving too many older persons at risk. 

 

Meanwhile, the savings realized by slashing senior services may actually translate into increased state spending.  For those who cannot afford to take their prescriptions, more expensive hospital care looms on the horizon.  And, without home care, costly institutional care may become the only option for many others.

 

Ten Percent, Well Spent  

Right now, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs, which oversees services for seniors in the commonwealth, operates with funding that is less than 10 percent of the total state budget.  Yet, Elder Affairs provides critical help for seniors, including:

·         assistance to pay for prescription drugs through Prescription Advantage;

·         long-term care services, including home care;

·         protective services, such as Money Management;

·         housing assistance;

·         caregiver support;

·         health and wellness services;

·         nutrition help;

·         SHINE counseling (Serving the Health Information Needs of Elders);

·         focused assistance at the community level through Councils on Aging, and much more.

 

Housed within the mammoth Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Elder Affairs is a relatively small group charged with a huge task: Serve the fastest growing demographic in the Bay State.  By 2020, the 60+ population will nearly double. 

 

Today, Elder Affairs – like the services it provides – is at a bare-bone level, operating as a lean machine, and committed to helping older Massachusetts residents age with independence and dignity.

 

Earlier this year, Gov. Patrick proposed moving long-term care services away from the purview of Elder Affairs.  Ultimately, he decided against the change, signaling an understanding of the complex issues facing an aging society: health care, long-term care, housing, work, and wellness. 

 

As he wrestles with yet another consolidation of the Executive Branch, AARP urges Gov. Patrick to keep the Executive Office of Elder Affairs intact.  Older persons in this commonwealth deserve no less.

 

Economic Challenges

We are all facing challenges in these tough economic times.  Individuals, families, big and small businesses, and government:  We have had to tighten our belts and make do with less to make ends meet.  We have reviewed our spending and made decisions about what we can live without. 

 

For seniors – whose fixed incomes were already stretched thin – this recession has hit home even harder. 

 

Most have seen retirement savings dwindle and health care costs soar.  Some have helped their children and grandchildren who have lost jobs, or homes. Too many still struggle to pay for food, housing, utilities, health care and home care. 

 

Like Mary Keenan and Rollin Lane, they face these economic challenges without the help they have counted on; the help they were promised.  They are on the brink.  Gov. Patrick, please don’t push them over the edge. 

 

Deborah Banda is the state director of AARP Massachusetts, representing over 800,000 members age 50 and older in the Bay State. This editorial appears in the November 2009 issue  of the Fifty Plus Advocate, the statewide mature market newspaper.

For State Budget Updates

For updates on the state budget and the status of services for seniors, visit AARP.org/MA.