An in-home care assistance program funded entirely by the state of Massachusetts is aiming to find a way forward after the news that the governor is capping the number of beneficiaries far below the number of current clients.
The state’s Enhanced Community Options Program (ECOP) will cap its total enrollment figure at 7,322 despite currently having more than 9,000 beneficiaries, according to reporting from the Boston Globe. The program is seen as a key difference maker for state residents who seek to age in place in their own homes but may not be able to afford private in-home care alternatives.
Enrollment is decided in part by implementing community nonprofit organizations, which received word of the enrollment cap after an order from the office of Gov. Maura Healey (D).
Crucially, no existing beneficiaries will be cut from the program. It will instead work by making changes to the enrollment process.
“[T]hose hoping to newly enroll for assistance must be put on a waiting list until the number receiving services declines by more than 1,800,” the Globe reported.
In some cases, the community nonprofits are redirecting some existing beneficiaries to other state-based home care programs, but some of them have far fewer hours for individual beneficiaries than ECOP.
One profiled beneficiary in the state will move to a different program that has not been cut, but which only offers about two hours per week of assistance compared to ECOP’s eight hours.
The source of the cuts varies, but recent federal actions and attempted clawbacks of funds by federal officials have led to additional caution from state officials, the report explained.
“A combination of factors is contributing to state administrators’ budget planning heartburn, including threatened cuts by the Trump administration to Medicaid funding,” the Globe reported.
“This federal-state pool of money pays for many of the state’s elder services, including two other home care programs that are for lower-income individuals.”
External support can be an important factor for seniors aiming to age in place in their own homes.
A recent study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that despite most older Americans preferring to age in place, a lack of support — either from family or caregivers — may cause them to opt for congregate care facilities.
Another recent study from Johns Hopkins University found that expanding long-term care services will be critical to support broad aging-in-place goals.
