Arkansas Enacts New LTC Counseling Program
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The law creates the “Arkansas Options Counseling for Long-Term Care Program,” under which nursing facilities will be required to notify the state’s Office of Long-Term Care of each new admission within the next business day. From there, the admitted individual will be offered a consultation designed to educate him or her on the following matters: 1) the availability of long-term care (LTC) options that are open to the individual; 2) sources and methods of public and private payment of LTC services; 3) factors to consider when choosing among the available programs, services, and benefits; and 4) opportunities and methods for maximizing the independence and self-reliance of the individual, including support services provided by the individual’s family, friends, and community. Arkansas residents do not have to wait to be admitted to a nursing facility to receive a consultation; the law allows any individual to request a long-term care consultation.
One of the reported goals of the new program is to generate awareness of the alternatives to institutional care, which apparently have been underutilized in Arkansas’ Medicaid program. While the state operates a number of Medicaid home and community-based care waivers and a cash and counseling program (Arkansas is the first state to receive approval for Medicaid’s new cash and counseling option and has been awarded a Money Follows the Person grant), these programs apparently lack for many customers in Arkansas, and it is hoped that increased awareness through counseling will enable more individuals to choose the alternatives. Though they may not be taking advantage of the alternatives, Arkansas residents want them. A study published by AARP this past January noted that almost 90% of respondents in a survey of Arkansas adults 40 years old and older would prefer to receive long-term care services outside of a nursing home (Long-Term Care Choices: A Survey of Arkansas Residents Age 40+).
The statute does not indicate how quickly a newly admitted resident must receive the counseling, nor does it specify exactly who will provide the counseling (the state DHS will provide a “summary” when the consultation is concluded, but it also is not clear how quickly this will occur). Additionally, it will be interesting to see how the information provided on the “sources of public” payment for LTC interacts with the information provided on the “opportunities . . . for maximizing the independence . . . of the individual including support services provided by the individual’s family [and] friends . . .” In other words, is there any reason to be concerned that individuals financially eligible for Medicaid will be persuaded by counselors to rely on family members instead (assuming that the exploration of support services from family members is independent of information provided on the cash and counseling program)? These issues and others will have to be monitored in implementation.
For more information, please call Gene Coffey in NSCLC’s D.C. office.