Congresswoman Linda Sánchez
The Medicare Adult Day Care Services Act of 2009 (pdf), a bill that would expand options for home and community-based services, has been introduced into the U.S. House by Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA).
The bill would amend the Social Security Act to cover adult day care services under Medicare. Seniors and people with disabilities would then be able to choose whether to receive care at home or at an adult day care center.
Sánchez Spokeswoman Marsha Catron said the bill would give Medicare beneficiaries more services and care hours at an all-inclusive rate that’s lower than many providers currently offer. These services would include not only nursing but various therapies (physical, occupational, speech), social services and personal care, and meals, transportation and recreational activities.
“Adult day care is a family-friendly option for seniors who require rehabilitation and other assistance with daily life tasks, but don’t require 24-hour care,” Sánchez said in a press release. “The Medicare Adult Day Care Services Act is a cost-effective way to add more choice to Medicare because it would pay adult day care providers 98% of the home health rate and give our seniors the option to choose adult day care.”
Sánchez said the bill would also help family caregivers, the majority of whom are women from low-income families, by reducing the amount of wages, pension benefits, and Social Security benefits lost due to caregiving responsibilities. And it would do this without adding to the cost of Medicare.
For information about other recent HCBS-friendly legislation, see PHI’s stories on Project 2020 and the Home and Community Balancing Incentives Act.
My husband, Joe, in 2000 was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. Joe was 58 years old.
When my concern for a safe environment compromised my ability to work, Joe was enrolled in an Adult Day Program. He was the youngest attendee. He was big, mobile and strong.
Ironically, the same day I accepted a long-term assignment to work with behaviorally and cognitively challenged children in an elementary school, I learned Joe would not be allowed to continue attending the Adult Day Program.
Io avoid prematurely invilidizing Joe, I stopped working.
Adult Day Programs are a blessing for many attendees and their families/advocates. However, Adult Day Programs must have staff who are specifically educated to work with attendees who are not: arts & crafts or sit & stay. The direct care workforce is in dire need of attention. Please check the Senior Resources – Agency on Aging website: http://www.seniorresourcesect.org to learn what the Direct Care Workforce Shortage Team proposes in their White Paper: When No One Cares. It is not enough to mandate Adult Day Program services when the direct care staff is either not in place or not properly trained and supervised.
Including Adult Day Programs in the Health Care Reform discussion is necessary. Families should not have to risk impoverishment to provide appropriate and best care practices for their loved one.
Thank you for calling attention to the need to provide Adult Day Programs in the Health Care Reform discussion.
Cecelia Sullivan, MS Ed., HTPA
Care Partner & Family Advocate
Hospice Educated Volunteer
PO Box 167
Oakdale, CT 06370-0167