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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 9, 2007

Strickland Orders Department of Aging to Eliminate Wait for PASSPORT
Directive Effectively Expands Popular Medicaid In-home Care Program

COLUMBUS - The wait is over for approximately 1,100 low-income seniors who have asked for home-care services through the state's PASSPORT program. A directive issued yesterday by Governor Strickland calls for funding to be re-directed immediately to eliminate the current waiting lists for the program.

"The Ohio Department of Aging fully, and gladly, supports the Governor's directive to expand PASSPORT - one of our most economical ways to support older Ohioans in settings they prefer," said Barbara E. Riley, director of the Ohio Department of Aging. "With this directive, we will be able to provide older individuals with more choices in how their long term care needs are met in their communities."

The state budget for the current biennium limited the number of new enrollees in the Medicaid waiver program to 625 a month. This was an expansion from the previous budget, but still did not meet the growing demand for PASSPORT services. This directive overrides the current budget limit and ensures that PASSPORT is available to all qualified senior citizens who request it. The program enrolled 33,291 people in 2007.

Most seniors prefer to choose the setting in which they receive care, whenever they can. The PASSPORT waiver program is just one option the Department of Aging offers those dependent on Medicaid. The Choices waiver program, which allows a qualified senior citizen to employ service providers in his or her home, and the assisted living program, which pays the costs of care for an individual currently living in a nursing facility to move to an assisted living facility, help older Ohioans stay in their homes and their communities, safely and comfortably, for as long as possible.

"We truly appreciate the attention the Governor and the General Assembly, through the proposed Senate Bill 5, are giving to the need to expand home and community-based options for Ohioans," Riley added. "I am confident that with their leadership, and the strong partnerships of the aging network, we can quickly transform long-term care in Ohio."

About ODA

The Ohio Department of Aging serves and represents two million Ohioans age 60 and older. The Department advocates for the needs of all older citizens, with an emphasis on improving the quality of life for older Ohioans, helping them live active, healthy and independent lives, and promoting positive attitudes toward aging and older people. The Department provides services to older Ohioans through 12 area agencies on aging, home- and community-based Medicaid waiver programs such as PASSPORT, the long-term care ombudsman and the Golden Buckeye Card. For more information, visit www.goldenbuckeye.com.