Bill That Would Have Greatly Expanded Home and Community-Based Services Fails

By: State: Mississippi | Source: AARP.org

During the 2009 legislative session, AARP Mississippi worked with state lawmakers to bring more balance to the state's long-term care system. AARP staff met with members of the House Public Health and Human Services Committee and House Medicaid Committee to get important Home and Community-Based Service provisions into House Bill 105.

HB 105, a rules bill, would have increased by 200 per month the number of Home and Community-Based Service waiver slots beginning in May 2009 for three years. However, the bill died in conference committee at the end of the session.

In Mississippi, 89 percent of Medicaid long-term care funding goes to nursing home care and 11 percent goes to Home and Community-Based Services. Nationally, 75 percent of Medicaid long-term care dollars pays for nursing home care, while the remainder funds services that help people remain in their own homes as they age.

The bill included AARP language that sets a goal of reaching the national average of 25 percent for Medicaid long-term care funding directed to Home and Community-Based Services by 2012. Other provisions in the bill made it clear to people age 65 and older and those with disabilities that they may choose either kind of care—institutional or home-based.

The bill also provided for a hospital tax for 2010-2012 to fund Medicaid and removed a face-to-face Medicaid eligibility determination requirement for children age 16 and under.

AARP also worked with lawmakers to include language in House Bill 1682, an appropriations bill, that would have allowed Medicaid funds to be rebalanced to pay for the additional Home and Community-Based Services waiver slots.

"As more Mississipians age, the cost effectiveness of home and community-based services could potentially save the state millions of dollars," said AARP Mississippi Senior State Director Sherri Davis-Garner. "AARP will continue to advocate for passage of better home and community-based funding legislation next year. We have a group of grassroots volunteers throughout the state ready to work on this issue."