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Department of Aging announces
Health Care Reform Grants to help Older
Adults Understand Health and Long-Term Care
Options
October
2010--The
Pennsylvania Department of Aging today
announced that the commonwealth will receive $3.75
million in
federal Affordable Care Act grants to help
older adults, individuals with disabilities
and caregivers better understand their
health and long-term care options.
"These grants will greatly assist the
department in helping people navigate a
complex health care system, giving them more
control over their own care while lowering
health care costs and improving quality,"
said Secretary of Aging John
Michael Hall.
The funds will be used to help families make
better-informed decisions about Medicare and
Medicaid benefits, and provide information
about community-based services that can help
people remain in their homes or with nursing
home transition. Important information about
support for older people with chronic
diseases will also be available.
The grants will focus on four areas to
support older adults, individuals with
disabilities and family caregivers:
-
Medicare Outreach and Assistance in Low
Income Programs and Prevention Grants – $1.7
million is
being made available for outreach and
assistance to Medicare beneficiaries,
including coverage for preventive
services. The grant will enable the
department to continue its nationally
known APPRISE program, which offers free
health insurance counseling to Medicare
enrollees.
-
Nursing Home Transition through "Money
Follows the Person" Grants – $400,000 will
strengthen consumer access to community
supports as local agencies will be
better able to transition people from
nursing homes to community-based care.
The department will work with seven Area
Agencies on Aging (Blair, Indiana, Cambria, Clearfield, Centre, Mifflin/Juniata andSomerset counties)
to expand access to services.
-
Evidence-based Care Transition Grants – $400,000 will
enable the commonwealth to help older
people or those with disabilities to
stay in their own homes after a
hospital, rehabilitation of skilled
nursing facility stay. The department
proposes to work with the Delaware
County Office of Services for the Aging
and the Crozer Keystone Health System to
prevent re-hospitalization for a minimum
of 235 seniors identified as high risk
over two years. These grants will help
break the cycle of readmission to a
hospital that occurs when people are
discharged into the community without
the social services and supports that
are needed.
-
Chronic Disease Self-Management Program –
The departments of Aging and Health will
implement and expand a $1.25
million grant
using the Stanford
University Chronic
Disease Self-Management Program to
empower older residents with chronic
disease to maintain and improve their
health status. Four Area Agencies on
Aging (Allegheny, Berks, Cambria and Philadelphiacounties)
will lead the program targeted to serve
nearly 4,000 people.
