Long-Term Care Services & Supports You Should Know About !

Nearly a quarter of individuals living with MS will require long-term care support and services at some point during the course of their disease. In the past decade, North Carolina's long-term services have suffered due to increased service costs and a rising demand for assistance. Luckily, North Carolina received a new line of funding and the Office of Long-Term Services and Supports, a division of the NC Department of Health and Human Services, has a plan to revamp the processes of applying for as well as issuing aid. New procedures encourage integration both in the delivery of care as well as the handling of information.

The grant provides funds for a number of new programs. The Community Resource Connection or CRC is a program available in several counties. The CRC is a unique state program because it strictly believes in a person-centered approach that acknowledges the needs of individuals and their care-givers. (Did you know that one in five Americans provide care to another adult?) Also, the CRC is part of the No Wrong Doors Policy, a policy that aims to reduce departmental overlaps. Additionally, it allows citizens a linear path in acquiring services and enables state departments to cooperate by sharing information. This eliminates unnecessary paperwork, reduces wait periods, and therefore serves more people, quicker, and at a lower cost per unit without compromising quality of care. One No Wrong Doors amenity that I strongly suggest taking advantage of is NC CARE. Another policy provided is Living Healthy, which provides Chronic Disease Self-Management Programs, that are scientifically proven to positively impact participants.

Additionally, late last year, North Carolina received a federal grand for the Lifespan Respite Care Program. According to the project summary, collaborations between a number of departments within the Department of Health and Human Services, "seek to enhance and expand the quality and availability of lifespan respite services for all age groups throughout NC."

The Future of Long Term Care

What is long term care?

About twenty-five percent of people living with MS, at some point, need long-term care. Long-term care is a combination of support and services that work together to meet an individuals ongoing health, social and personal needs. Programs offering such care are extremely expensive. For individuals without a chronic illness such as MS, Long-term care insurance is one way to cover expenses. What about individuals who are unable to pay 1,000-3,000$ a year in premiums, or for other reasons are denied access to coverage?

Medicare and Medicaid fall under the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Medicare does not pay for long-term care, but Medicaid does. The current budget crisis is leading government officials to search for ways to lower costs while offering quality coverage to citizens. Currently, support and services cost at least 30,000$ a year per individual, and Medicaid is the county's largest payer of long-term care.

Some approaches the government is investigating include:
-expanding Medicaid
-developing new programs under the Home and Community Based Services wavier program
-coordinating programs, services and providers that currently overlap

We will have a follow up post to present current government debates on health care reform in relation to long-term care.

Also, I urge all readers to take a look at the NMSS's guide to
self-advocacy for access to health care coverage! Share it with a friend, and feel free to comment or post questions. This is an exciting time to be passionate about change!