Thousands of frail Minnesotans who plan to move into assisted living facilities will have to talk with a telephone counselor first under a state law that takes effect Oct. 1.
The counseling is designed to help older people and their families make better -- and less costly -- long-term care choices. It also is projected to save taxpayers $3.8 million in the next two years because public programs such as Medicaid pick up much of the bill for long-term care.
But it has kicked up a fuss among the state's 1,701 assisted living operators, who could lose customers.
The popularity of assisted living has exploded over the past two decades, from zero to 62,000 residents -- twice the number now in nursing homes. About 30,000 Minnesotans each year make the move. Lawmakers have become increasingly concerned about the burgeoning costs of public programs to care for frail people, whether at home, in nursing homes and recently in assisted living.
But while the average yearly cost for an assisted living apartment in Minnesota now is $37,000 -- well below the $67,000 on average for more intense care at nursing homes -- it's far more expensive than remaining at home. While about one-third of residents pay privately for nursing home care, about 85 percent pay their own way in assisted living.
As a result, some people exhaust their savings in assisted living and shift onto a Medicaid-supported program called Elderly Waiver, which subsidizes their costs. Of the 62,000 people in assisted living, about 7,875 are on that program, each at an average annual cost of about $26,000.
With the counseling, the state estimates that 945 callers a year will choose a cheaper option, most likely staying in their homes with added services.
"Our surveys have told us that people want this kind of information" to help them maintain a high quality of life as they age, said Loren Colman, assistant commissioner for continuing care at the Minnesota Department of Human Services. "This will be very helpful for many older Minnesotans and their families."
