I thought I'd pass along this thought-provoking article from Kaiser Health News.
Whenever I'm called upon by the Probate Courts to act as a conservator for an elderly person my natural instinct is to always do whatever is necessary to allow the person to live at home for as long as possible.
But Howard Gleckman's article reminds us that it ain't quite that simple. Living at home is no cakewalk in most cases, particularly when it comes to addressing social issues.
It's a little challenging to digest all the moving parts of the current proposals for health care reform. But one aspect of the Senate Finance Committee's proposal kinda jumped out at me: the "Community First Choice Option".
This option provides partial federal Medicaid reimbursement to states that establish community support programs for people with disabilities. Such programs would only apply to people who require an institutional level of care, caps on the number of people under the program would not be allowed, nor would waiting lists for services.
Please note that the proposal does not make programs for home health care mandatory and it provides funding only for the next five years. Nonetheless, this certainly falls under the "step in the right direction" category!
Click here for more detailed information on the proposal from the National Coincil on Independent Living (NCIL).
