NH getting $26.5 million to expand home care
CONCORD, N.H.—New Hampshire will be the first state in the country to receive new Medicaid grant money to help seniors and people with disabilities remain in their homes.
Starting next month, the state is getting $26.5 million over three years through the Obama administration's health overhaul law. The goal is to help states shift from institutional care to home and community-based services.
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, most Medicaid money for long-term services still goes to institutions. But the national percentage of Medicaid spending on home and community-based services has more than doubled from 20 percent in 1995 to 43 percent in 2009.
States are eligible for the grants if they currently spend less than 50 percent of their total long-term care costs on community-based options.
