Counting On Medicaid To Avoid Life In A Nursing Home? That’s Now Up To Congress.
Ten years ago, a driver ran a stop sign as Jim McIlroy rode into the intersection on his motorcycle. Serious injuries left McIlroy paralyzed from the chest down. But, after spending some time in a nursing home, he returned to his home near Bethel, Maine. McIlroy does most of his own cooking since Maine’s Medicaid program paid for a stovetop that he can roll his wheelchair underneath to reach the food-prep area. His new kitchen sink has the same feature. Wheelchair- friendly wood flooring has replaced McIlroy’s wall-to-wall carpeting. The alterations plus a personal care aide — all paid for by Medicaid — enable McIlroy to stay in his house that he and his wife, who has since died, “worked really hard to own,” he said. The arrangement also saves Medicaid roughly two-thirds of what it would cost if he lived in a nursing home. McIlroy depends on the federal- state program ’s growing support of home- based care services — along with 2 million elderly or disabled Americans who rely on...