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BMA Emphasizes Need for Affordable Assisted Living at National Summit

Date Posted : 12/22/2009

Speaking at the national 2009 Advanced Sales & Marketing Summit for the Seniors Housing, Assisted Living and Nursing Care Industry, Blair Minton and Rick Banas of BMA emphasized the need for there to be a viable affordable assisted living option available throughout the United States.

The summit, which was sponsored by the Assisted Living Federation of America and the American Seniors Housing Association, was held on Dec. 7 and 8 in Naples. Florida.

“Currently, there are nearly 19 million people in the U.S. who are 75 years of age or older,” says Minton “Nearly 45% of these individuals live in households that have annual household incomes of less than $25,000. With the average cost of assisted living topping $3,000 a month - $36,000 a year, those with less than $25,000 in annual household incomes are highly unlikely to be able to afford private pay assisted living.”

In the coming decades, the number of older adults in our country is projected to increase dramatically, but most states have done little to plan for the impact that this will have on their budgets, he notes.

During their presentation, Minton and Banas talked about how Illinois has developed an innovative approach called Supportive Living, which benefits both the state and the older adult.

The State benefits because it saves money by giving those who need some assistance to maintain their independence but don’t require skilled nursing care an option to live in a less costly environment than a nursing home. The State estimates that it saves 40% to 55% of the cost of care each time someone selects Supportive Living over a nursing home.

The older adult benefits from being able to live in a much more highly residential environment while receiving the support and personal assistance that is needed. In addition, residents benefit from plenty of opportunities to enjoy the companionship of friends and neighbors and participate in a variety of social and recreational activities, which they would be much less likely to experience if they were struggling alone at home.

Among the reasons the program in Illinois works is that reimbursement levels are sufficient enough to attract providers while at the same time reasonable enough to provide a significant financial benefit to the State and the process for becoming a resident is not complicated.

A person must be 65 or older unless they are moving to one of the supportive living communities that are designed specifically for those 18 to 64 with a disability. While designed to especially serve low and moderate income seniors, those of all incomes can be accommodated.

Residents pay privately for as long as they have the financial resources to pay the monthly fee. Financial assistance is available from the state if the resident does not have the financial resources to pay the monthly fee so long as the resident qualifies for Medicaid.

“Another wonderful aspect of the program is its emphasis on personal choice, dignity, privacy and independence,” says Minton.

In the past 10 years since the first Supportive Living community opened in 1999, the number of Supportive Living communities has grown to 117 located throughout the State. Together, the communities house nearly 9,250 apartments.

Last year, the State estimates that 6,000 individuals on Medicaid benefitted from the program.

With our focus on developing affordable assisted living communities that operate under the Supportive Living program in Illinois, BMA has grown into one of the leading providers of assisted living in the country. In March of 2009, BMA was ranked as the 24th largest provider of assisted living in the United States by Assisted Living Executive, the official publication of the Assisted Living Federation of America. BMA is the largest provider of affordable assisted living in Illinois.

During 2009, the company has grown by nearly 30% as we opened six new communities and completed the expansion of two communities. More than 88% of the senior living homes and apartments managed by BMA are affordable assisted living apartments designed for older adults of all incomes, including those on Medicaid.

“Our hope is that we can work collaboratively with others to overcome the obstacles to affordable assisted living that exist in so many other states,” says Minton.

The obstacles include insufficient reimbursement rates; lack of funding during the period of time it takes for an older adult to be approved for Medicaid; case managers that make it difficult for persons to qualify for residency; and artificially low caps on the number of persons who can benefit from the program.

“Ironically,” says Minton, “other states might deny paying for a person in assisted living so as not to exceed the cap but will then have no choice but to pay for more costly nursing home care if the person decides to move into a nursing home.”

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