Issue Position: Lowering Nursing Costs While Maintaining Seniors' Quality Of Life

Issue Position

Connecticut spending billions of dollars on healthcare. As the Chairman of the Human Services Committee, I oversee all of this spending, which is about a third of all state spending. This is a national problem, and here in Connecticut we are no exception. But we cannot just stop spending money on our sick, injured, and elderly citizens. We have to find ways to cut costs while still maintaining the services our neighbors, friends, and families need.

The inability to do normal activities like cleaning, taking medication, and preparing food often force otherwise independent seniors into nursing homes under Medicaid rules. By working with the federal government, we were able to change these rules to allow seniors to take advantage of some of these services at their homes. This does two things: it lowers State costs by keeping people out of high-intensity facilities that they don't need, and it allows seniors to stay in their own homes and receiving only those services they need to remain safe and healthy.

My work on nursing home finance reform earned me the Legislator of the Year Award this year from LeadingAge Connecticut, an association dedicated to advancing the quality of services and care for older adults and chronically ill individuals. I am proud of my work in this regard, which helps both our seniors and our bottom line.

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