A disaster for our most frail senior citizens
Toolbox
By BETH STERN - Published: January 24, 2010
here is no way to sugarcoat this: Gov. James Douglas' proposed 2011 budget is a disaster for senior citizens. This budget reverses the progress the state has made in shifting the balance from expensive nursing home care to less expensive home-based care.
Proposed cuts include elimination of programs in senior housing as well as elimination of state grants to foster grandparents, senior companion, and Neighbor to Neighbor AmeriCorps programs. All of these programs leverage thousands of volunteer hours in order to fill the gaps in services that paid staff cannot do. The budget proposes ending funding for a statewide registry of direct care workers, which helps families find workers to care for their elder family members. A program to help with home modifications and ramps would end. In addition, increases to state pharmacy program premiums would further tax senior's pocketbooks.
Those seeking transportation for dialysis would need to find alternative ways of obtaining this life-saving service. Funding for case management and personal care services would be reduced. Cuts to Area Agencies on Aging would result in many fewer home delivered meals for seniors. Adult Day programs, many of which are already struggling, would see reduced funding. We will be forced to decide whether to provide less help to thousands, or no help to hundreds. Neither choice is a good one.
The state long-term care ombudsman program, which investigates complaints in nursing homes and residential care homes, would have to reduce service. Restrictions in funding for the home-based side of the often touted Choices for Care program would limit eligibility and reduce home-based alternatives to nursing home care. The harm to seniors just goes on and on.
It's not hard to see that this is bad for seniors who depend on these programs. Each of these programs or services represents a spoke in the wheel of support for seniors in need of help. Each one provides an essential response that helps seniors to stay independent, active and healthy, and allows seniors and their caregivers access to information that they need.
Here are a few examples of what these programs do for Vermont's seniors. Neighbor to Neighbor AmeriCorps provides 1,000 seniors and people with disabilities with direct services; it serves more than 3,000 seniors with healthy aging programs, and provides 20 jobs each year. The Senior Companion program keeps 68 low income seniors physically and mentally active, and pays them a small stipend, as they support frail seniors with companionship, transportation and activity, giving these isolated seniors a better chance to remain in their own homes.
Area Agency on Aging staff members provide case management, information, Medicare Part D counseling, and caregiver support to thousands of Vermont seniors each year. We provide assistance with applications for benefit programs and help seniors through the maze of bureaucracy involved in most federal and state programs. Funding from AAAs supports many other community providers such as, legal services, mental health, transportation, senior centers and home delivered meals programs. According to a nationwide research study, investing $1 in senior nutrition programs saves $3.25 in health care costs.
These and other programs mentioned are low cost alternatives that bring in many millions of federal dollars and save the state money by preventing unnecessary emergency room use and nursing home admission. Keeping these federal funds in Vermont saves and creates jobs in the social service sector while helping those who most need our assistance.
At the same time that the governor is slashing programs that support seniors to stay at home, he is proposing inflationary increases for nursing homes. Giving more funding to the most expensive institutional service while cutting out the supports for the least expensive home based services is contrary not only to the intent of the recent legislative sessions, but also is opposite of what the people of Vermont say they want in their final years – to stay at home.
Those who work with and serve elders know that this is the toughest budget year we have seen in years. We know that everyone must share the pain and that everyone must compromise. We are ready to discuss how we can help with these decisions in ways that do the least harm to vulnerable seniors, with ideas that generate sustainable income for these services, and don't decimate the home based service infrastructure to the point of no return.
The governor is proud to be spending $400 million paving roads and fixing bridges, and it is estimated that it costs up to $1 million to pave one mile of roadway. The cuts in senior services mentioned above add up to less than $4 million, while the population of those over 65 is projected to grow almost 40 percent in the next 10 years in Vermont. It is not the time to weaken our ability to respond to critical elder needs. Could we perhaps pave four fewer miles of road and continue to serve thousands of Vermont seniors who need our help?
Beth Stern is executive director of Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA) and lives in Marshfield.
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