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Seniors
Seniors wait for home care while their applications linger in “black hole”

Seniors wait for home care while their applications linger in “black hole”

By: Arielle Levin Becker | May 22, 2012  CTMirror.org

http://ctmirror.org/seniors-wait-home-care-while-their-applications-linger-black-hole/

 

Short-term memory loss makes it hard for Antonio Cardoso to remember whether he already had his insulin shot that day.

Delays in processing paperwork at the state Department of Social Services meant that the 68-year-old went months without getting any help, his lawyer said.

Cardoso lives on his own in Wethersfield, responsible for managing his diabetes and taking medication for his high blood pressure. Last month, out-of-control blood pressure and high blood sugar landed Cardoso in the emergency room. His daughter, Patricia Cardoso Richardson, worries that without home health care services, he'll end up in assisted living or a nursing home.

It's not that there aren't services available to help Cardoso at home. A state contractor determined late last year that he was eligible for the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders, which provides services to seniors who are at risk of going to a nursing home, and submitted an application on his behalf to DSS.

Also Read

·         DSS system woes burden CT’s senior centers, aging agencies

 

People who work in senior centers, town social service offices and senior housing complexes say the state Department of Social Services' new system has led to elderly residents losing benefits, low-income clients having to pay out-of-pocket for medication, and more of their own time devoted to trying to fix problems caused by the new system.

·         At Connecticut’s intersection of policy and people

 

Mirror reporters attend hearings and other events, but rather than just relay what happened, they often use these as jumping off points to examine issues more deeply and from various perspectives. This week we ran a story by health reporter Arielle Levin Becker that was far more than just a report on a public hearing.

But it took more than five months -- and, his attorney thinks, being named in a federal class-action complaint -- for Cardoso to get approved to receive services.

People involved in the home care system say delays in handling applications at DSS have left hundreds of seniors in similar positions, waiting months for services they've been deemed qualified for, services that could be critical to keeping them safe and healthy.

"It's the new norm," said Julia Evans Starr, executive director of the Connecticut Commission on Aging. "If you're looking to get access to these home- and community-based supports, specifically through the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders, you can expect that it's going to take many, many days beyond the 45 days" -- the legal time frame for processing Medicaid applications.  Continue reading at …  http://ctmirror.org/seniors-wait-home-care-while-their-applications-linger-black-hole/