subject: Long Term Care in Montana [print this page] Long Term Care in Montana Long Term Care in Montana
According to AARP, Montana have billed almost 75 percent of its Medicaid long term care expenditures for older people and adults with disabilities to nursing homes, even though most of these individuals favour to stay in their own homes and communities. Its records show, the state spent 12 percent on waiver services and 13 percent on personal care services.
According to the 2010 Genworth Cost of Care Survey, practically two-thirds of people over age 65 will need LTC at home or through adult day health care, or care in an assisted living facility or nursing home. And while most people think of it as impacting only those in senior years, 40 percent of people presently receiving LTC service are ages 18 to 64.
Other data also show, the state has a higher than national average of residents who are over the age of 65. At present, 13.9% of its population are seniors accumulated to over 131,000 individuals. And, these numbers are expected to elevate in the coming years same with the increasing need for assisted living and LTC. This demand is also facing a few difficulties reaching out to seniors since many areas of the sate are quite remote making assisted living and elder care inaccessible to most elderly.
Moreover, AARP stated Montana still has an unbalanced LTC system for older people and adults with physical disabilities and the state's number of participants receiving home and community-based services slightly amplified while the number of participants in nursing homes has declined. The institute presented, from 2001 to 2006, the swell in Medicaid spending in nursing homes was more than seven times as much as the increase in spending on HCBS.
In addition, the State Plan on Aging announced the state is aging at a faster rate compared to most other states. And, to address this occurring issue, it recommended an increase in the number of people served by the Medicaid Home and Community-based Waiver Program. The state's legislature then followed by providing additional funding.
To continuously cure the rising impediments within its health care system, Montana also created the Senate Bill 155, the Older Montanans Trust Fund, in 2007 which expands and develops new and innovative approaches to home-based services for people aging 60 and above. Followed by another passed bill of the same year, SB 206, the Department of Health and Human Services is authorized to study the feasibility of increasing Medicaid payments to employers of personal care attendants and other direct-care employees so those employers can provide health insurance for their workers.
