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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2006

Taft Announces New Alternative to Nursing Home Care for Ohio Seniors on Medicaid

COLUMBUS - Governor Bob Taft today announced that the state will add assisted living as an option for 1,800 Ohio seniors and adults with disabilities on Medicaid who are in need of long-term care through a new assisted living waiver program.

“Seven years ago, the Ohio Access initiative began reshaping the long-term care system in Ohio to give our seniors more and better choices,” Taft said. “Adding assisted living as an option for Ohioans on Medicaid supports the Ohio Access vision by allowing seniors and adults with disabilities to get the care they need in the setting they prefer.”

Assisted living is a popular alternative for families as an intermediate form of care and previously was not an option under Ohio’s Medicaid program. The assisted living services waiver program is one of the key priorities of Ohio Access, Governor Taft’s blueprint to improve long-term services and supports for people with disabilities. And, in its January 2005 report, the Ohio Commission to reform Medicaid recommended that the state provide assisted living waivers as an alternative to costly nursing home care.

House Bill 66, the FY06-07 state budget bill, created and partially funded the assisted living waiver program, which will be administered by the Ohio Department of Aging. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, approved the state’s request to use Medicaid funds for this program on March 31.

“The assisted living waiver program fills a void in the long-term care continuum,” said Ohio Department of Aging Director Merle Grace Kearns. “The new care options will help people receive the appropriate level of care based on their needs while offering savings to taxpayers.”

Statewide enrollment for the assisted living services waiver will begin July 1, 2006. Ohioans interested in participating in the waiver program should contact their Area Agency on Aging at 1-866-243-5678 on or after July 1. To be eligible, a person must already be a nursing facility resident who would remain in the facility if not for the waiver, or a participant enrolled in a Medicaid waiver program, including PASSPORT, CHOICES, Ohio Home Care or Transitions Carve-Out, who would move to a nursing facility if not for the waiver.

Licensed Residential Care Facilities interested in being providers should immediately contact their Area Agencies on Aging at 1-866-243-5678 to be certified.