Home Care for Seniors

* Re “Common Sense for Home Care,” editorial, Jan. 8: California is way behind the ball on developing a rational policy for care options for its low-income seniors. Every month, hundreds of seniors receiving in-home supportive service (minimum wage paid to a worker for a certain amount of hours per month, depending on care) make a transition to nursing homes, where the state, under MediCal, pays about $2,500 per month. Many of these seniors with only custodial care needs (i.e. help with dressing, bathing) could stay in their own homes with some additional services or go to an assisted living environment. Both would cost substantially less than a nursing home.

The rub is, because neither MediCal nor IHSS provides funding for additional services at home, nor do they permit funding for assisted living homes, these seniors do not have these options. The state is needlessly paying millions of extra MediCal dollars to nursing homes each year. At the same time, a low-income senior is denied the right to decide in which setting he/she wants to receive care.

JASON BLOOME

Public Policy Chair

San Gabriel Valley Alzheimer’s

Task Force, Los Angeles