Bringing Long-Term Care Home

Thousands of older Nebraskans who want care at home are unable to find the services and support they need to live independently. AARP believes everyone should have the choice to remain in their homes as long as possible since that is what 89 percent of Americans 50+ say they want.

Yet under current law, Medicaid—which pays much of the nation’s long-term care bill—has an institutional bias that strongly favors nursing homes. Despite most Nebraskans’ desire to receive care at home, the state is spending only 16 percent of its long-term care funds on home- and community-based services. On average, nursing home care costs three times as much as in-home care.

“It makes no sense that so many people are forced into nursing homes when we could improve their quality of life and spend less money by caring for them at home,” said Mark Intermill, AARP Nebraska’s associate state director for advocacy.

For retired social worker and AARP volunteer Leo Racine of Bellevue, in-home services provided by the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging have made all the difference to his quality of life and allowed him to remain productive in the community. At a recent AARP briefing on Capitol Hill, Racine urged lawmakers to make home and community-based options widely available to older Americans.

“If I didn’t receive these services, there is no doubt in my mind that I would be in a nursing home,” he said. “All of us have the opportunity to contribute if we’re given the chance. One of those chances is home-based care.” Hear Leo Racine’s comments.

As part of comprehensive health reform this year, AARP is calling on Congress to support several important bills that will allow more people to receive care at home rather than in a costly institution.

“Each year, more Nebraska families struggle with the staggering cost of long-term care,” Intermill said. “As we overhaul the health care system, we need to expand choices that could save billions of dollars.”

For more information about AARP’s efforts to expand home- and community-based services and how you can help, contact Mark Intermill at (402) 323-5424 or mintermill@aarp.org.