Thank you to the 737 of you who have signed. This week I wrote about a number from the state's budge
Hello Caregivers and Caregiver Advocates:
Thank you to the 737 of you who have signed.
This week I wrote about a number from the state's budget office. About 8 percent of Colorado's Medicaid members use long-term services and supports. They account for about 48 percent of what Medicaid spends from the state's General Fund. The state projects a $443 million overspend this year.
In response, the state has put limits on paid care at home. One is a weekly cap on the paid hours a single caregiver can provide to one person: 84 hours now, 70 in January, 56 in July 2027. Budget staff projected it would save about $1.1 million in General Fund money in its first year.
By my calculation from the state's own report, those savings would be offset if about 54 families moved someone into a nursing facility because the arrangement at home stopped working. That is a threshold, not a prediction. I don't know how many families that has happened to, and neither does the state. So I asked the Medicaid Commission, in writing, to recommend that the state start counting.
A correction: last week I wrote that this cap had no phase-in. That was wrong, and I've fixed it in this week's piece.
What you can do this week:
- Tell the state. HCPF is holding roundtables October 6 (1:00–2:30 p.m.) and October 7 (9:00–10:30 a.m.), and has a written survey open through October 11: hcpf.colorado.gov/medicaid-sustainability-and-ltss
- If you work and care for someone in Colorado, take the Caring Costs Survey, in English or Spanish: casiadvocacy.org/research
- Share this petition with one person who is doing both.
This petition supports two proposed bills. The FLEX Act would give working caregivers the right to ask for a flexible arrangement and get a written answer. The CARE Act would follow it. I'll explain how they fit together next week.
Read and Listen to the full piece: [https://therevenueneutralcaregiver.substack.com/p/the-research-desk-2?r=6a52ih&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true]
Kindly and Gratefully,
Mark Fukae, CASI, Professionals Who Care
En español: Gracias a las 737 personas que han firmado. Esta semana escribí sobre una cifra del estado: cerca del 8 por ciento de los miembros de Medicaid usa cuidado a largo plazo y representa cerca del 48 por ciento del gasto de Medicaid del Fondo General. El estado puso límites al cuidado pagado en casa, pero no mide cuántas familias terminan llevando a un ser querido a un hogar de ancianos. Pedimos por escrito que empiece a medirlo. También corregí un error de la semana pasada: el límite semanal sí se aplica por etapas (84 horas ahora, 70 en enero, 56 en julio de 2027).
Esta semana usted puede: opinar ante HCPF (mesas redondas el 6 y 7 de octubre; encuesta escrita hasta el 11 de octubre), completar la encuesta de CASI en español en casiadvocacy.org/research, y compartir esta petición con una persona.