More long-term care options pushed

By XINJUAN DENG
Capital News Service
LANSING – Michigan can improve long-term care by providing more home and community-based services as alternatives to nursing home care, AARP Michigan says, but an industry group cautions that nursing facilities are crucial to the state’s health care system. According to the AARP, 35 states spend fewer Medicaid dollars on nursing home care than Michigan. Those states’ services include aides and nurses who visit seniors in their homes. Lisa Cooper, manager of advocacy at AARP Michigan, said, “Michigan currently spends only 21.6 percent of our long-term care budget for older adults and people with disabilities on home and community-based services. We spend 78.4 percent of our long-term care dollars on nursing home care.”
The report said nursing homes are expensive and becoming more so.