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
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.
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/