Page 0: Page 1: $997.8 Million Amount saved in FY 2007-2008 in nursing home payments by spending $467.7 Million for HCBS.1 14% Percentage of Florida’s Medicaid long-term care and state-funded expenditures spent on less expensive and more desirable HCBS. 2 28% The Time to Act is Now! The Palm Beach County Partnership for Aging supports Florida’s investment in Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), and specifically, seeks an INCREASE in funding to HCBS by 14%.  Slowing Medicaid long-term care costs and serving seniors in need at a lower cost to the state is imperative for the long-term well-being of our state.  Seniors prefer to receive needed services at home, and in the least restrictive, most home-like environments.  Florida’s Home and Community Based Services save the state money by providing alternatives to higher cost, institutional placements. It’s time to shift Florida’s long-term care dollars to a Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Model of Care once and for all! National average of state long-term care spending devoted to HCBS. 3 Rebalance Florida’s LongTerm Care Spending Diverting more people into lower cost and more desirable HCBS is an essential function of the Aging & Disability Resource Centers/Area Agencies on Aging, as well as the Comprehensive Assessment and Review for Long Term Care Services (CARES) unit within the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. Despite already having cost saving programs in place, early innovations have stagnated and Florida is now in the bottom group of states with demonstrated commitments to HCBS. States that invest in HCBS see slower Medicaid expenditure growth than states with low HCBS spending.4 46,000 Number of seniors on waiting lists for HCBS; many at imminent risk of entering nursing homes at a higher cost to the state. The Time to Act is Now! Contact: Cindy Schoolmaster, President cas@cottagesga.com 561-234-0182 1 Mission: To be the proactive voice of older adults in Palm Beach County and to mobilize local and statewide leadership and resources to ensure the optimum quality of life for older adults. Rev 3/7/10 Florida Department of Elder Affairs, Summary of Programs and Services, April 2009 2 (2007 data) - AARP Public Policy Institute, Across the States 2009: Profiles of Long Term Care and Independent Living ,March 2009 3 AARP Public Policy Institute, State-Funded Home and Community-Based Programs for Older Adults, April 2009 4 Taking the Long View: Investing in Medicaid Home and Community Based Services is Cost Effective, AARP Public Policy Institute, Insight on the Issues I26, March 2009 Page 2: