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Over 250 people attended a rally at the Massachusetts State House to demand that Gov. Deval Patrick reverse budget cuts that would deprive seniors of certain prescription drug benefits and reduce funding for subsidized housing.

The advocates also asked for clarity on how Massachusetts will use federal stimulus funds to bolster home care and Medicaid.

The February 26 event was organized by the Massachusetts Senior Action Council (MSAC) and widely covered by area media. Attendees were able to speak with state lawmakers and a governor’s aide about their concerns regarding the state’s elder care and home care programs.

MSAC President John Bennett expressed disappointment that the budget cuts do not live up to the promise of the state’s Equal Choice bill, which Patrick signed into law in 2006, and “requires the state to provide long-term care in the least restrictive setting — meaning the money will follow the person, rather than the location, making it possible for more people to receive medical care at home.”

Demonstrators held signs saying "Home Care First!"

Bennett said, “We are calling on the governor to live up to the. . . bill. Since the bill passed there have been cuts. Now people are on a waiting list and winding up in nursing homes unnecessarily” (Wicked Local: Malden, Mar. 5). The “waiting list” he referred to is the growing number of Massachusetts seniors – 1000 at present – who are waiting for home care.

Attendees demanded clarity on how the state plans to use funds from the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act to address this issue, and to improve home care in general and Medicaid in particular (State House News Service , Feb. 27).

The group’s Executive Director, Al Norman, said it’s time for state lawmakers to “turn up the heat on home care funding. . . . These [elders] are not just bean counters. These are real people” (Wicked Local: Malden, March 5).

Democratic Rep. Barbara L’Italien, vice chair of the state’s House Committee on Ways and Means, echoed comments by the other lawmakers at the rally when she said, “This will be a very difficult and unprecedented time. . . . I will do my darnedest to advocate for elder care” (State House News Service, Feb. 26).

Amy Robins, the Massachusetts State Director for PHI, points out that the situation in Massachusetts only underscores the need for more funding, training, and attention in general to be directed toward improving direct-care jobs.

“Clearly, too many vulnerable seniors are on waiting lists,” she said. “But in thinking about how the state ought to make use of it federal stimulus dollars, we need to remember the necessity of improving direct-care jobs. That’s the only way to ensure that seniors have access not just to care but to quality care.”