Long-Term Care - Illinois General Assembly

The maximum asset level for eligibility should be raised from its present $10,000 where it has
been since the program’s inception in 1980 to $20,000.
Amounts required for co-payment for services should be reevaluated and reduced as the budget
constraints permit.
The Medicaid waiver to include other allowable services such as home health, targeted case
management, personal emergency response systems, and home delivered meals, which are
currently allowable under waivers.
Revive adult day center services throughout the state with reimbursement rates equal with the
cost of providing service.
Heed the request of the adult day care association and other aging organizations to increase
the reimbursement rate. Provide incentives for new day care development.
Provide targeted case management services to recipients under Medicaid.
A portion of the $1.5 million in Illinois GRF funding currently being allocated to case coordination
units by the area agencies for case management could be used to leverage additional federal
financial funds under Medicaid.
Expand the Medicaid waiver to include reimbursement for home delivered meals to Medicaid
eligible clients.
Expand the Medicaid waiver to include reimbursement for home health services specifically,
medication management.
Nursing homes should be provided with incentives to convert portions of existing facilities to
accommodate alternative living styles including short term stays for respite care, adult day care
services, and assisted living units.
Although we have transportation systems funded under Section 1511 of the federal
Transportation Act, and administered through the Illinois Department of Transportation, glaring
voids exist in transportation availability. A senior who lives in one county and must travel to
another to obtain kidney dialysis or chemotherapy has no transportation available to them. In 2
other counties, Medicaid reimbursed medical transportation is not provided by the Mass Transit
District.
There is also a lack of transportation in 2 counties for persons who reside outside city limits, or
to whose small towns no scheduled transportation routes are available.
The state should develop a comprehensive rural transportation system. The Illinois Department
of Transportation should develop guidelines and standards for rural transportation systems
which provide an expectation that at a minimum require transportation to and from sources of
medical care necessary for life threatening illnesses and condition. The state should also
arrange for regular monitoring and assessment of transportation providers to assure that
effective use of existing contract funds is being accomplished.
The community Senior Services and Resource Center Advisory Committee created under
House Bill 2413 should allow small rural senior centers access to the funds authorized by that
new law to enable them to staff their centers. There is also a need for renovation and relocation
assistance for aging centers some of which are over 100 years old.
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