Koutoujian announces House passage bill to modernize MassHealth program - 07/25/2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 25, 2006 Contact: Daniel J. Delaney
617-722-2130
BOSTON - Seniors citizens and the disabled who quality for long term care services under the MassHealth program will have an “equal choice” between home care, or care in a nursing home, under legislation unanimously adopted by the House of Representatives. “The fact is that most elderly and disabled people want to be cared for at home,” explained Representative Peter J. Koutoujian. “This legislation gives them the choice to live independently in the community.”
House Bill 5203, the “Equal Choice” bill, modernizes the MassHealth program by shifting the emphasis from one institutionalization to care in the least restrictive setting appropriate to an individual’s needs.
Several recent studies of the state’s long term care system have noted the Commonwealth’s over-reliance on institutional care. Today, approximately 75% of the MassHealth funding for long term care goes to nursing homes. Massachusetts ranks 25th in the nation for the percentage of MassHealth funding spent in the community. Rep. Koutoujian, who also serves as the Chairman of the Public Health Committee said, “This bill is a win-win. The equal choice bill will save state taxpayers an estimated $134 million in the first five years and keep elders safe and happy in their homes.”
Al Norman, Executive Director of Mass Home Care, has noted that the bill represents an important civil rights bill that allows consumers to seek care in the most integrated setting. Its passage is the culmination of years of hard work on the part of home care advocates and the House leadership.
The equal choice bill establishes a more focused “pre-admission counseling” program for people who are being referred to a nursing home, to ensure that they are aware of community alternatives. The state would then submit a “waiver” to the federal government which will raise the income and asset levels for the MassHealth long term care program, thus allowing the Commonwealth to capture 50% federal match for some elders who are not fully supported with state funding. “House Bill 5203 will give some of our Commonwealth’s more vulnerable residents a choice in deciding where they will be cared for, and be fully informed of all their options,” remarked Representative Rachel Kaprielian.
The equal choice legislation has been endorsed by the major elderly and disabled rights groups in the state, including Mass Home Care, AARP, the Statewide Independent Living Council, MAOA, Mass Senior Action, Mass Councils on Aging, and the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization.
The Senate engrossed a similar version of the equal choice bill on a unanimous vote. The bill will now come up for a final vote in the Senate followed by final enactment in the House before being sent to the Governor for his approval.
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