Senior Action Week is May 5–9, including Older Michiganian’s Day on Wednesday, May 7. Older Michiganian’s Day is an annual event organized by the Area Agencies on Aging where advocates gather at the capitol to speak up about critical issues for older adults in Michigan. This year’s theme is Flip the Script on Aging. We want you to join us!
This year’s platform focuses on three key issues:
Expanding Access to MI Choice
MI Choice is an in-home service program that enables over 15,000 Medicaid-eligible seniors and adults with a disability, who meet eligibility requirements, to receive Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) in their home rather than a nursing facility. Not only do most older adults (88%) want to age in their homes and communities, but the MI Choice program is also 62% less expensive than a Medicaid nursing facility. MI Choice supports individuals by providing an extensive array of person-centered, in-home services and supports including assistance with activities of daily living, nursing services, home-delivered meals, home modifications, respite care, transportation, adult day care, and more. To support participants in the program, a risk pool assists in covering additional costs. The risk pool has been underfunded and doesn’t cover the need. In addition, the difference between revenue and cost, or margin rate, along with the administration rate are not in line with other state Medicaid programs.
Michigan ranks near the bottom in the proportion of taxpayer dollars spent by states to provide long-term care through home and community-based services (HCBS) versus institutional care. In Michigan during Fiscal Year 2023, only 29% of LTSS funding was allocated to HCBS while 71% went to institutional settings – far below the national average of 53%. Supporting access to MI Choice would bring Michigan more in line with most states in allocating at least half of LTSS funding to HCBS.
ACTIONS:
- Urge the legislature to fully fund the risk pool with an appropriation directly from the Medicaid HCBS budget line, requiring about $5 million in GF.
- Urge MDHHS to increase the margin rate to at least 1% and increase the administration rate to 9%.
- Urge MDHHS to address non-financial administrative issues through a workgroup process.
- Urge the legislature to bring equity between HCBS and institutional care by rebalancing Medicaid LTSS funding to at least the national average of 53%
Increase Access to Home and Community-Based Services
In Michigan, there are currently 6,970 seniors on waiting lists for essential non-Medicaid in-home services provided through Michigan’s Bureau of Aging, Community Living, and Supports (ACLS Bureau). These funded services include home delivered meals, in-home personal care, homemaking, and respite care that delay or prevent the need for more costly long-term care interventions.
ACTIONS:
- Support the Silver Key Coalition’s request for a $8 million increase for ACLS in-home services in ACLS’ FY26 budget.
- Support the Silver Key Coalition’s request for a $2 million increase for home delivered meals in ACLS’ FY26 budget.
Support Family and Informal Caregivers
Family caregivers provide essential care to older adults and loved ones. It is estimated that 1.73 million Michiganians provide an estimated 1.1 billion hours of voluntary care worth approximately $19.6 billion per year and are the largest source of long-term services and supports in the country. With the continuing direct care workforce shortage, support for caregivers is even more important to assist older adults in their homes. Without continued family-provided help, the cost to Michigan’s health and LTSS systems will skyrocket.
ACTION:
- Urge the legislature to support a permanent $5 million appropriation in the FY26 budget distributed to AAAs to support continued development of AAA Caregiver Resource Centers, caregiver educational opportunities, services and supports with a focus on health equity.
- Urge the legislature to pass the Caring for MI Family Tax Credit to provide tax relief of up to $5,000 per year for family caregivers.
The Area Agencies on Aging Association of Michigan also supports the Alzheimer’s Association’s request for an additional $2 million in annual funding for Michigan’s Dementia Unit to help expand services for people with dementia and their caregivers.
It’s imperative that local State Representatives, State Senators, and the Governor hear from Michiganders on how their decisions impact critical services for older adults. One important way to get involved is to write to your representatives about these issues and urge them to take action.
Download a copy of a form letter you can use to make your voice heard. Please feel free to add any comments, or a personal story, that you feel elected officials should know on the back of the page. Find out who your local representatives are in the Michigan House of Representatives and in the Michigan State Senate.