Home · Business · Sep 8 archive
Medi-Cal Waivers for Assisted Living Face Limitations in Rural California
Confirmed
In Short: In rural California, options for assisted living are limited, leaving families like John and Roselie's with few choices.
Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid, does not offer a waiver to pay for assisted living care in 42 counties, including Siskiyou, leaving many elderly residents with few options. John, who moved back to the ranch to care for his sister Roselie, found that despite her eligibility for Medicaid, she could not access assisted living benefits.
There’s not a lot of options to begin with in rural counties. You take (the assisted living waiver) off a table, which already has a history of a long waiting list, and the options are pretty bleak,' said Maura Gibney, executive director of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.
John's decision to move back to the ranch to care for Roselie, who needed assistance with daily activities, highlights the challenges faced by families in rural areas. However, the lack of Medi-Cal waivers for assisted living in Siskiyou County and 42 others means that many elderly residents must rely on family support or nursing homes.
Partnership, a care organization, chose not to offer assisted living support based on financial factors and a lack of appropriate facilities in rural areas, according to Dustin Lyda, the organization's spokesperson. Any change in what the organization offers would require proof that assisted living facilities would be safer and healthier for members than nursing homes.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- As the state prepares for this explosion in the older adult population, it is prioritizing the ability to age in community-based settings like homes or assisted living facilities.
- A pilot program providing more assisted living coverage in rural California has emerged from one man’s fight to change his sister’s options Welcome to CalMatters, the only nonprofit newsroom devoted solely to covering issues that affect all Californians.
- Sign up for WhatMatters to receive the latest news and commentary on the most important issues in the Golden State.
- When her three brothers moved away, she stayed at home on the ranch, with its winding dirt roads and green pastures.
- But over the years, the hard manual labor left her bones weak and her back curved, slowing her pace.
- Only 15 California counties, most of them urban, offer this option.
- MEDIA CONTACT: Cristina Valdivia, Cristina.Valdivia@cv.ca.gov, (916) 508-9018 What you need to know: To celebrate 175 years since California became a state and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, California is launching California Gives — a statewide effort to encourage Californians across the state to volunteer and give back.