Smart Legislation

Great weather wasn’t all that happened in late June. Just before the holiday weekend, the 2006 state budget was passed. In a welcomed move, local officials and the Governor established a budget that will provide more options for elders across the state.

The new budget will make community-based care options much more accessible for elders and other disabled Massachusetts’ residents. The General Court increased funding for a variety of home care options by some $29 million over fiscal year 2005 appropriations. These increases will expand services to people who are determined eligible for nursing home care but who would prefer to remain in the community.

As part of Governor Romney’s “Community First” policy, the Commonwealth is promoting consumer choice and home care as preferred options. The General Court has directed increased funding to various programs including Meals on Wheels, in-home care services that provide help with personal care and other activities of daily living, elder protective services, Councils on Aging, pharmacy assistance to augment the new Medicare drug insurance program, and programs that encourage caregivers to devote time to caring for a disabled person at home.

Although the Fiscal Year 2006 budget does not completely shift the emphasis from institutional care to home care, it is a major step forward in offering consumers a choice of where they want to receive care.

Senators and representatives from the MVES region have been at the forefront of the effort to make quality community-based care the care of first resort, not last resort. Senators Barrios, McGee, Tarr, and Tisei and Representatives Casey, Connolly, Donato, Fallon, Falzone, Festa, Jones, Marzilli, Natale, and Sciortino should be commended for funding programs that help elders remain in the community.

Thanks to this bipartisan support and that of the Governor, Massachusetts is once again poised to take a leadership role in designing and implementing care options—care options that are cost effective, desirable, and most importantly, successful.