Thousands of Massachusetts older residents could lose access to home care services this spring

Chris Lisinski

The Legislature’s point people on senior services echoed concerns about a funding shortfall projected to hit the home care industry, and one senator told advocates she would “support you in any way we can.”

Rep. Thomas Stanley and Sen. Patricia Jehlen, who co-chair the Legislature’s Elder Affairs Committee, lent their voices Tuesday to growing worries that thousands of older residents could lose access to home care services this spring.

“I cannot overestimate the importance of supporting home care and the importance of trying to resolve this as soon as possible so people can make plans and hire the people who are so hard to find,” Jehlen told attendees of a virtual briefing hosted by Mass Aging Access. “I’m here to listen and support you in any way we can.”

The group, which represents more than two dozen local access points for home care, warns that insufficient funding in the current state budget combined with growing demand has created a gap of tens of millions of dollars.

Betsey Crimmins, the group’s executive director, said that without another injection, at least one member organization could run out of money for care in February, and others could follow in March and April. That would require many individuals seeking care to be placed on a waitlist, advocates warned.

Supporters tout home care as a way to better aid older adults while avoiding higher long-term costs. Lisa Gurgone, CEO of Mystic Valley Elder Services, said the average annual cost for a home care recipient in Massachusetts ranged between about $3,600 and $10,000 — compared to the average Medicaid nursing home care cost of $77,000.

Attendees said they will push lawmakers to include more funding for home care in a mid-year spending bill that could emerge in the coming months.

Stanley called the topic “another important issue that [organizers] are flagging for everyone as we go into the next legislative session,” which begins Jan. 1.