Proposed Legislation to Expand In-Home Elder Care in Massachusetts

The Boston Globe reports that Massachusetts lawmakers are hearing many proposals for expanding services that the commonwealth provides the elderly who need more help to enable them to live at home.  A coalition of nonprofit entities are reportedly supporting various legislative initiatives that, proponents say, ultimately will save taxpayers money because they will reduce the time that older residents spend at expensive institutions, such as hospitals and nursing homes.  Proposals include providing older people of moderate means assistance with grocery shopping and taking medicine, as well as teaching family members how to perform in-home nursing tasks.  Laws governing the latter, says the story, have already been enacted in Oklahoma and New Jersey.

 

With the expanding costs of healthcare and the aging population of baby boomers (who must think not only of their current and future medical care needs, but also of their parents’ present health care requirements), a proliferation of similar proposals across the country would not be surprising.

 

JRB