Ohio home care providers and advocacy groups are calling for the reinstatement to the state budget of $40 million in Healthy Aging Grants.
The Senate struck the funds, provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), from the Senate’s proposed budget last week. With Ohio’s June 30 budget deadline approaching, groups such as AARP Ohio and the Ohio Aging Advocacy Coalition (OAAC) urged lawmakers to reimplement the grant dollars.
“The grants … were proposed by the Ohio Department of Aging and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, maintained by the Ohio House of Representatives and cut by the Ohio Senate,” Patrick Schwartz, the vice president for government affairs at political consulting agency High Bridge Consulting, said in an email to McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse.
In a letter dated June 14, coalition members, businesses and advocates asked Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman to restore the money to the Senate budget.
“Research has shown that community-based support services such as those provided through the Healthy Aging program … can help Ohioans stay healthy, live longer and remain active contributors in their communities,” the letter reads.
According to Schwartz, who was the former director of government affairs at LeadingAge Ohio, the Healthy Aging Grants would allow older Ohioans to age in place through home- and community-based services (HCBS) rather than be forced to move to institutional care. The grant funding would provide nutrition services, transportation, minor home modifications, chronic disease management, health promotion, personal care, respite and other services.
The letter points out that over 1 million Ohioans 60 years and older live at or below the poverty line, and that without the grant money, this population could risk “premature reliance on Medicaid for their long-term care.” The cost to provide this care through Medicaid, such as through nursing home services, was $83,000 per person. With Healthy Aging Grants, OAAC could “delay or altogether prevent” Medicaid reliance. The coalition believes $40 million is a “marginal” investment compared to the alternative.
AARP Ohio also called for the grant money to be restored to the budget.
“The Healthy Aging Grants program is a commonsense solution that will support Ohio’s 1.5 million family caregivers and help older Ohioans age in place, ultimately allowing them to live independently instead of forcing them to live in nursing homes,” Holly Holtzen, Ohio’s AARP state director, said in a statement.
Almost 50 advocacy groups and businesses have signed the OAAC letter to reinstate the Healthy Aging Grant money to the state budget. By state law, budget negotiations must conclude by or before June 30.
