Bullying old people?

How can it be fair for the Department of Human Services to reach into its bag of tricks and pull out a new tool to deny previously approved patients’ services that they were receiving from “at home care” and “assisted living services”? The cost of these services is usually lower than nursing home costs. But the federal government picks up a larger share of nursing home costs than they do for “in home care” or “assisted living care” costs for Medicaid-eligible patients. So the state saves a little DHS budget money by essentially forcing these patients into nursing homes.

Arkansas is already in the bottom fourth of states for patients receiving “at home care,” which is what most people want in their last years. This new tool will just push Arkansas further into the bottom fourth.

DHS actions are adversely affecting all of us old people, not just those on Medicaid, because they will be driving the providers of these “at home care” services out of business and forcing a lot of us non-Medicaid eligible old people into the more expensive clutches of nursing home owners.

DHS, you are headed in the wrong direction. Turn around; don’t force us old people unnecessarily into nursing homes!

Hear the committee meeting I attended July 9. Log on to www.arkleg.state.ar.us. When the site comes up, click on weekly view at the bottom. Then enter start date 7/9/2019, end date 7/16/2019, and hit go at the end of the date line. Then click on the video icon at the end of the 10 a.m. session line. Move the little square in the timeline to 10:12 a.m. for the start of the session. Move the timeline to about 11:05 a.m. to hear my testimony. Best of all, move the timeline to 11:46 a.m. to hear the gut of the whole issue stated by Michael Shepard, past chair of the National Center for Assisted Living.

MAC FAULKNER

Little Rock