According to AARP report, state fares better in supporting family caregivers
BY: EMMA DAVIS – OCTOBER 23, 2023 5:02 AM
Maine has the oldest population in the country. It also has some of the highest costs for in-home care and nursing homes, according to an analysis from AARP.
AARP ranked Maine 49th among all states and Washington, D.C. for cost of in-home care for older residents and people with disabilities, and 45th in nursing home costs. Overall, the state received a rank of 41st for affordability and access.
Maine AARP state director Noël Bonam told Maine Morning Star that the poor marks for cost of care did not come as a surprise.
“The rankings for cost of home care and nursing home did reinforce what we have been hearing from lot from older adults in the state,” Bonam said.
AARP’s Long-Term Services and Supports State Scorecard, updated every three years since 2011, uses state data to assess performance. The 2023 scorecard is the first to measure care for older residents and people with disabilities since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Across the country, the long-term care sector has struggled to rebound since the pandemic. The cost of nursing home care is unaffordable for middle-income residents in every state, the report notes. While at-home care is generally more affordable than nursing homes, it still exceeds what many older households can afford to pay with their income.
Maine’s low rankings for cost underscore an already apparent need in the state to improve its system of care for older residents.
“AARP Maine will be engaging legislators over the next couple of months to discuss the scorecard and to explore efforts that would address the high cost of care in the state,” Bonam said. “I think it will be no surprise to lawmakers that the costs are high but it may [be] more urgent based on the ranking when compared to other states in the nation.”
Maine recently made some investments through the state budget passed this summer. Gov. Janet Mills allocated $45 million for long-term care facilities, including nursing homes.
Maine performed better in other areas of senior care. The state ranked relatively high — eighth — in its support for family caregivers. The latest budget also expanded financial support, from $2,000 annually to $5,171 annually, for caregivers through the “Respite for ME” program, which provides grants to Maine families who are caring for a family member at home.
“The support of family caregivers, who truly make up the backbone of our long-term care community, community integration and choice of settings and providers puts Maine at a much better ranking than most other states,” Bonam said.
The scorecard also measures how many nursing home residents have low care needs as an indicator of what sort of options are available. If there are large numbers of people with low care needs at a nursing home, it may mean they do not have access to home or community-based services.
Nationally, 9% of nursing home residents have low care needs; whereas in Maine, 3% of nursing home residents have low care needs. This implies that, although costly, Mainers have a lot of choice in their care.
AARP also drew attention to the conditions of nursing home residents that are often linked to staffing levels and the quality of care provided.
For example, pressure sores, or bed sores, can be a sign of neglect because they’re often caused by residents being left alone and not moved for long periods of time. These sores can also be life-threatening because they can lead to bone or joint infections, cancer and sepsis. Nationally, 10% of high-risk nursing home residents — meaning mostly bed bound — got pressure sores. In Maine, 6% did.
Disparities of care are also often attributed to inequity, though AARP’s Maine office does not independently measure equity performance data, according to Bonam.
AARP’s scorecard also assesses long-term services and supports for people with disabilities.
Maine received its lowest ranking in its employment rate for people with disabilities, 13.7%, ranking Maine 51 out of all states and the District of Columbia. The national employment rate for people with disabilities was 21.6%.
“We haven’t done so well in integrating practices that allow and support differently abled people to join the workforce,” Bonam said. “However, we know that the Maine Department of Labor is working quite hard to change this. Not only for people with disabilities but also for older adults. I will say that we are heading in the right direction even though we are far from an ideal place.
Maine ranked first in the country for its enrollment of low-income people with disabilities into Medicaid, which was also the category in which the state saw its most improvement compared to the 2020 scorecard. This is in line with overall declines in the uninsured rate among all people in Maine eligible for Medicaid expansion.
Categories: Health Concerns, Medical Concerns, Senior Support Services, Uncategorized
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