State offers coverage of assisted-living costs

The care facilities cost less than half what nursing homes do.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Few assisted-living centers in Ohio are participating so far in a new program in which the state pays for the care of senior citizens who don't want to live in nursing homes but need too much help to stay in their homes.
Ohio began offering Medicaid coverage July 1 at assisted-living centers for up to 1,800 people, the 43rd state to pay for some services at the facilities that can help residents with bathing, dressing and eating. State lawmakers have set aside $18 million for the program.
As of Thursday, 47 Ohioans had applied for assisted-living coverage and only nine facilities had received state approval to accept the Medicaid recipients.
Many facilities still are trying to make sure they meet state requirements, such as ensuring that Medicaid residents are offered private rooms and private baths, said Roland Hornbostel, deputy director of the Ohio Department of Aging. The state expects more providers and applicants to come forward by the end of the year, he said.
About 18,000 Ohioans are in 400 assisted-living centers statewide, according to the nonprofit Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging. The average age of a resident is 83, and costs range from $2,000 to $4,000 per month -- most of it paid for by families or in some cases by insurance policies.
What is covered
Ohio's new assisted-living program will pick up the cost of a resident's care -- $50 to $70 a day, depending on the level of service. But the cost of room and board still must be paid for by the resident. The state has capped that cost at $553 per month.
The cap is making some residential care centers shy away from participating, said Jean Thompson, executive director of the Ohio Assisted Living Association.
"The problem is $553 a month is not adequate payment for room and board in some parts of the state, particularly in urban areas," Thompson said.
There is also some reluctance because current private-pay residents will not qualify for the state program should they run out of money, she said.
Ohio's program is available only to Medicaid recipients already living in nursing homes or receiving in-home care.
Anna Katona, 90, of Columbus, has been getting in-home care through Medicaid's PASSPORT program, but her family wants her to move into an assisted-living apartment. Katona's eyesight has deteriorated.
"We want her to still maintain some independence," said Tina Lovejoy, Katona's granddaughter. "My experience with anyone who has been in a nursing facility is they don't last long. With assisted living, she is in her own apartment with her own bathroom. Nursing homes feel like hospitals. We don't want that."
Nursing home care costs Medicaid about $58,000 per resident each year, compared with $22,000 for assisted living, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, which distributes Medicaid dollars.