Massachusetts Elder Office Recommends Governor Cut $6.5M From Home Services

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs is recommending that acting Gov. Jane Swift (R) cut funding for home-care services by $6.5 million, eliminating services for more than 5,000 seniors, because of the state's "financial crisis," the Boston Globe reports. If the cuts are approved, the home-care program, which currently serves 33,000 seniors over the age of 60 with annual incomes less than $21,000, would see "services pared to a minimum" and longer waiting lists for services, according to the Globe. In addition, some aging specialists say the cuts would force more seniors into institutional care. Although nursing homes can be five times more expensive for the state than home care, Massachusetts cannot legally cut nursing home care because it is an entitlement program. According to Frank Ollivierre, president of the Massachusetts Association of Older Americans, the proposed reductions are "a mindless approach." However, state officials say the state budget crisis "places all funding not guaranteed by law on the chopping block," the Globe reports. Frank Caro, director of the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, said, "The new round of budget cuts would move Massachusetts further in the wrong direction. Historically, there's been a lot of rhetoric in [the state] about commitment to home and community-based long-term care. But the major money goes to the nursing homes. This is an expensive strategy for Massachusetts" (Dembner, Boston Globe, 10/9).