Elderly will benefit from law to back caregivers

The measure helps alleviate stress and promotes wellbeing to sustain a healthy caregiving relationship.

The effect of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable members of local communities has been widely documented, particularly as it affected emotional and physical needs of our elderly residents.

Now, as with many results of the pandemic scourge, some good has come from the increased awareness of the need for elder care. The state legislature recently adopted a bill which was then signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf to expand eligibility and allow flexibility in the administration of Pennsylvania’s Caregiver Support Program.

House Bill 464 sponsored by Rep. Karen Boback, now Act 20 of 2021, aligns the Family Caregiver Support Act with the federal National Family Caregiver Support Program of the Older Americans Act.

The program provides support to caregivers of older adults, grandparents raising grandchildren, and older caregivers of adults living with a disability with the purpose of alleviating stress and promoting well-being to help sustain a healthy ongoing caregiving relationship, according to a press release from the state Department of Aging.

“Caregivers face a variety of challenges. With the many priorities that caregivers have to juggle, finding time to focus on their own needs and personal well-being often falls to the bottom of the list. The Caregiver Support Program can provide important services that can support them in their caregiving relationship,” Secretary of Aging Robert Torres said in the release applauding the passage of Act 20. The new law:

• clarifies eligibility criteria for program participants,

• removes a statutory spending limit on the cost of monthly care plans, allowing the Department of Aging to adjust those limits across the program, as necessary. This spending limit had not been increased since 1993.

• eliminates a $300 aggregate average requirement for support care plans, which will allow Area Agencies on Aging to build plans that are more customized and person-centered to the needs of each individual caregiver and better support them in their caregiving role.

• removes the program’s $2,000 lifetime limit on home modification reimbursement, allowing the Department of Aging to adjust this limit as necessary. This change allows caregivers more flexibility in paying for home modifications and assistive devices needed to assist their disabled or elderly family members.

Through the expanded program, caregivers have the opportunity to receive vital supports and services such as care management, benefits counseling, caregiver education and training. Income-eligible caregivers may also receive financial reimbursement of approved, caregiving-related expenses, including respite and consumable supplies.

“Expanding the protections provided under the Family Caregiver Support Act, and removing maximum reimbursement rates for out-of-pocket expenses, home modifications and assistive device expenses, is necessary,” said Rep. Boback. “The enactment of this bill enables Pennsylvania to further assist those across the commonwealth who need it most, like our grandparents who have been tasked with raising their grandchildren.”

Those eligible for the program also include Pennsylvanians of any age caring for someone with Alzheimer’s Disease or other dementias. According to current state Department of Aging data, 26% of caregivers are providing care for someone with Alzheimer’s Disease or other dementias.

“Now more than ever, we need aid to support the emotionally, physically and financially draining role of being a caregiver, especially for those caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias,” said Kristina Fransel, executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association Delaware Valley Chapter. “Enhancements made to the PA Caregiver Support Program through Act 20 will do just that by allowing more unpaid caregivers better access to respite services, higher reimbursements for caregiving supplies, home modifications and assistive devices and additional support and services offered.”

As the pandemic showed us, nursing homes, while necessary for many elderly, may not be the answer for others. Providing more support to allow elderly residents to remain at home with caregivers benefits both those in need of care and those providing it.

Caregiver support can provide opportunity for social interaction in contrast to the isolation endured as a result of Covid.

This legislation is a welcome boost to ease the strain on caregivers and benefit the health and emotional wellbeing of our elders.