Senate passes plan to help more seniors afford home care
Home care industry officials are celebrating passage of a Senate budget amendment on Wednesday that they say will make assistance more accessible and enable more seniors to avoid nursing home care.
According to Al Norman of Mass Home Care, the Sen. Barbara L'Italien amendment that unanimously cleared the Senate increases the income eligibility threshold for home care assistance from about $27,000 a year for an individual to $35,000 a year.
"This is to help people who can't afford home care without a subsidy," Norman said in an interview. "This means that lower middle class people will have access to the program for the first time."
The proposal was not included in the House budget that passed in late April, and it will be up to a six-member conference committee to decide whether to include it in the budget they send to Gov. Charlie Baker.
Those eligible for the subsidy will still pay for about half the cost of their home care, he said. The subsidies will be funded with up to $6.25 million in federal Community First Trust Fund revenues available under the Affordable Care Act, he said. L'Italien predicted the measure would be a money-saver for the state and would deliver assistance for the first time to more than 9,000 people.
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