Senior Action Week and Older Michiganian's Day
SENIOR ACTION WEEK: MAY 15-19, 2023
OLDER MICHIGANIANS DAY: MAY 17, 2023
This advocacy event will spotlight five critical areas of senior services for the state of Michigan including:
MONDAY: SUPPORT FAMILY AND INFORMAL CAREGIVERS
Family and Kinship Caregivers provide essential care to older adults and loved ones. It is estimated that 23% of Michiganians provide unpaid, informal care and are the largest source of long-term services and support in the country. With the continuing direct care workforce shortage, support for caregivers is even more important to assist older adults in thier home. Without continued family-provided help, the cost to Michigan's health and Long-Term Services and support systems will skyrocket.
ACTION: Urge your legislators to invest one-time funding of $16.8 million to develop and implement a Caregiver Resource Center model designed to identify, serve, and support caregivers.
ACTION: Support policies that provide family and informal caregivers with financial security and other resources.
TUESDAY: SUPPORT AND STRENGTHEN THE DIRECT CARE WORKFORCE
Direct care workers (DCW) are an essential component in helping older Michiganians age in place. In Michigan, an estimated 36,000 more direct care workers are needed to meet the demand, but due to low wages a lack of professional development, and the absence of benefits, it is difficult to attract and retain these workers. There is currently no federal training standard to professionalize the direct care workforce although they provide the majority of in-home care.
ACTION: Support the DCW Wage and Training Workgroup's recommendation of a $4 per hour DCW wage increase.
ACTION: Support the professionalization of the direct care worker network through training, creating opportunities for advancement, and increasing wages and benefits.
WEDNESDAY: SUPPORT & STRENGTHEN THE LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM
Michigan ranks near the bottom in the proportion of taxpayer dollars spent by states to provide long-term care in-home and community-based settings versus institutional care. During FY21, only 43% of long-term services and support funding was allocated to home and community-based services (HCBS) while 57% went to institutional settings. Michigan must strengthen the HCBS model of service delivery by expanding our Medicaid HCBS programs including MI Choice, PACE, and Home Help.
ACTION: Urge the Legislature to adequately staff Michigan's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program by adding 33 new full-time positions at an estimated total cost of $3 million.
ACTION: Urge the Commission on Services to the Aging to update the Ombudsman Funding Formula to distribute increased funds based on current demographic data.
THURSDAY: INCREASE ACCESS TO HOME AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES
In Michigan, there are currently 7,270 seniors on waiting lists for essential non-Medicaid in-home services provided through Michigan's Administration for the Community Living Supports Bureau (ACLS). ACLS-funded services include home-delivered meals, in-home personal care, homemaking, and respite care that delay or prevent the need for more costly long-term care interventions.
ACTION: Support the Silver Key Coalition’s request for a $9 million increase for ACLS in-home services and a $1 million increase for home-delivered meals in the Aging and Community Living Supports Bureau’s FY 2024 budget.
FRIDAY: EXPAND ACCESS TO MI CHOICE
Michigan ranks near the bottom in the proportion of taxpayer dollars spent by states to provide long-term care through home and community-based services (HCBS) versus institutional care. In Michigan, during FY 2019, only 37% of Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) care delivered went to Home and Community-Based Services while 63% went to care in institutional settings. The MI Choice Waiver Program is an in-home service program that supports eligible seniors and adults with disabilities. The MI Choice Waiver Program is an in-home service program that enables Medicaid-eligible seniors and adults with a disability to receive long-term services and support in their homes rather than in a nursing facility. MI Choice has demonstrated that care delivered in the home is 42% less expensive than having the same person moved into an institutional setting.
Action: Urge the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to raise MI Choice reimbursement rates to keep up with inflation and the increased costs of providing care.
Action: Urge the legislature to bring equity between HCBS and institutional care by rebalancing state expenditures.
Letter Campaign
A letter campaign during Senior Action Week last year helped preserve vital senior services in the FY2024 budget, so we are asking for your help again this year. Simply sign and print your name as well as your city and zip code and mail the completed form to (Laurie Sauer at 2569 US 23 South, Alpena, MI 49707). Feel free to add any additional comments, or a personal story, that you feel our elected officials should know on the back of this page. Comments are welcomed, but not required.
Please have the letters returned by May 1, 2023.Thank you for taking the time to help. If you have any questions, please call Laurie Sauer at 989-358-4663 or email us at aging@nemcsa.org