The Telegraph: Residents speak out against program cuts
From The Telegraph
ALTON – Area residents attended a community hearing Thursday to speak out against Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed change to the state’s Community Care Program — a program that helps keep older Illinoisans in their homes and communities as they age, avoiding costly premature nursing home admission. The hearing was hosted by Senior Services Plus in coordination with AARP who is also opposing the change.
Rauner has submitted an official request to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to increase the minimum “Determination of Need” score for the Community Care Program. The Determination of Need (DON) is a score that determines the extent of an applicant’s need for Community Care Program (CCP) services. Historically, individuals with a DON score of 29 or above were eligible for the program. Governor Rauner has proposed changing that minimum score from 29 to 37, eliminating over 24,000 individuals from the program statewide.
“With the proposed budget and changes that will affect many of the seniors who rely on our services, we believe that it is vital to bring these individual cases to the attention of Governor Rauner,” said Theresa Collins, associate executive director of Senior Services Plus. “In the format of testimonials, we hope that the needs of these individuals lead to the Governor’s careful consideration of how many lives will be affected and exactly how detrimental the cuts will be to the seniors in Southern Illinois.”