Vermont’s new long term care at home program
Under Vermont’s Choices for Care program, Medicaid-eligible seniorcitizens who need someone to tend to their needs have the choice ofbeing cared for at home by a family member, friend or neighbor, whogets paid by the state.
“A nursing home? They sit there and moan and holler and sit in achair and sleep. I don’t want that,” said Parsons, who has heart andthyroid problems and uses a walker to get around her senior citizenapartment building.
Experts say the closely watched project could spur dramatic changes in the way America handles long-term care for the elderly.
One year after enacting it, Vermont officials say it is reducing thenumber of people sent to nursing homes, cutting the cost oftaxpayer-funded care and improving the quality of life for people likeParsons.
Critics, including the nursing home industry, say subsidized homecare by family members and other non-professionals is far from apanacea. They say the care isn’t as good, however well-meaning familymembers are.
Ed: Thanks to Katherine Pearson for sending this link.