Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

January 3, 2012

Facilities for elderly, disabled once valuable, suddenly expendable

LePage administration officials fought to save funding for group and assisted-living homes, then sought a full cutoff.

By John Richardson jrichardson@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA — For much of last year, the LePage administration worked hard to protect federal funding for assisted-living homes for the elderly and group homes for people with mental illness or disabilities.

Officials held meetings around the state and hired workers to survey hundreds of the home agencies as part of its effort to maintain "necessary medical services to this very needy population," according to an Oct. 12 letter from Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew to a federal Medicaid official.

Then on Dec. 6, Gov. Paul LePage proposed cutting off all state and federal funding for the same homes.

"To say it was shocking or out of the blue would be an understatement," said Matthew Walters, chief operating officer of Woodlands Assisted Living, a Waterville-based chain of 10 assisted-living and memory-care facilities.

The proposed elimination of MaineCare funding for so-called private non-medical institutions would save about $60 million and help close an estimated $221 million budget shortfall over the next 18 months. The cut also would mean the loss of more than $100 million in matching funds from the federal Medicaid program.

DHHS officials told the operators of assisted-living homes and other institutions that the proposed funding cut was a difficult decision. "We understand how this budget recommendation may cause confusion for you given the work we have done to find solutions (to the federal funding issues). Our desire and commitment to work with you is and has always been genuine," Mayhew said in a letter circulated the day after submitting the budget.

REIMBURSEMENT ISSUES RAISED

The uncertainty about future federal funding for the homes became a top priority for Mayhew and other state officials during the summer and fall.

After routine reviews of Medicaid contracts, federal officials notified the state that at least some services provided through Maine's private non-medical homes don't appear to qualify for reimbursements.

Federal standards had been set up to encourage non-institutional care and include limits on what is paid for, as well as other requirements such as giving patients a choice of medical providers.

The institutions in Maine often have their own medical staffs to care for residents.

"We feel there might be some issues that need to be addressed as far as how the facilities get paid," Richard McGreal, who oversees Medicaid programs in New England for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said recently. "There's no threat of any type of reimbursement (suspension) or financial action against the state at this point."

In Maine, state officials and operators of the homes had been working to understand the complex federal rules and how to bring the institutions into compliance with as little disruption and loss of funding as possible.

"We're still trying to understand what the problem is so we can address it," said Richard Erb, president of the Maine Heath Care Association, which represents assisted-living homes.

"Maine is more heavily dependent on Medicaid-funded assisted living than other states and we do operate with bundled rates, but we're not the only state that does that."

SERVICE METHODS MAY CHANGE

To help protect the funding, Maine's DHHS hired workers to survey the home agencies about how they operate and bill for services.

It also hired a director of program and regulatory accountability who had been exploring ways to bring the programs into line with federal rules.

(Continued on page 2)

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