Report: Michigan relies too much on nursing homes for poor seniors

Report: Michigan relies too much on nursing homes for poor seniors | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
In fact, 35 states spend fewer Medicaid dollars -- the bulk of state funding for long-term care -- on nursing homes, instead finding ways to help seniors age in place, said Lisa Dedden Cooper, author of the report and AARP Michigan manager of advocacy.
 Those services include aides or nurses who visit seniors in their homes, for example.
Survey results are clear that seniors want to remain in their homes as long as possible, and by one estimate cited in the report, community-based services, on average, can save $57,338 per participant per year, Dedden Cooper said.
"We know what people want, and we know what costs less. ... What Michigan is doing is neither of these things," she said.