As the population of older adults surges and strains state resources, the senator in charge of vetting elder care issues said Thursday that lawmakers are advancing “an austerity budget” that’s not keeping up with demand.
“I have to point out that this is an austerity budget. We can’t expect to continue to provide level services with level funding because there are and will be more and more older people every year,” Sen. Patricia Jehlen, D-Somerville, co-chair of the Aging and Independence Committee, said Wednesday during the third day of annual state budget deliberations. “We aren’t just living longer. We’re living longer with disabilities and that will cost more — not just in health care, but in other human services.”
Amid surging caseloads and funding deficits, the administration of Gov. Maura Healey last year tightened eligibility for the Enhanced Community Options Program, which serves frail individuals who qualify for nursing homes but are able to receive intensive care at home. The administration also curtailed access to basic home care.
“The number of people served by ECOP has dropped dramatically, and the point of your ECOP is to keep people out of nursing facilities by providing care — more care — than in regular home care for people who are medically and financially already eligible for nursing facility care,” Jehlen said. “We have not considered increasing revenue, for example, by passing the corporate fair share bill which has a lot of support.”
Bills (H 3110 / S 2033) that look to draw more tax revenue from multinational corporations, which proponents say steer their profits into offshore tax havens, are stalled out before the Revenue Committee.
Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues, asked Thursday about Jehlen’s comments and how the budget anticipates growing demand for elder home care services, said the budget “faces a lot of challenge.”
Rodrigues said the Senate is “all in supporting our most vulnerable citizens, including the elderly in our commonwealth, and will continue to make investments as needed in home care.”
The budgets from Gov. Maura Healey, the House and Senate all invest nearly $299 million into elder home care service delivery, or a $20 million increase over fiscal 2026. The three budgets also allocate about $113 million for home care case management, a $2.6 million increase.
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