Support Increased Medicaid Reimbursement Rates to Assisted Living Facilities
Individuals with dementia often have trouble finding residential care placement. This is due to the difficulty in maintaining and attracting enough quality staff, and the low Medicaid reimbursement rates paid to facilities. The Alzheimer’s Association is urging the Idaho State Legislature to adjust Assisted Living Facility Medicaid reimbursement rates to accurately reflect higher cost of care for people with dementia. Idaho Medicaid reimbursement rates do not adequately account for the staff time needed to care for residents with cognitive decline and assisted living facilities often lose money by accepting someone with dementia. With appropriate reimbursement rates, assisted living facilities can ensure staff have the time necessary to appropriately care for residents with dementia, potentially also leading to new providers in Idaho.
Initiate a Statewide Endangered and Missing Persons Alert
Six in 10 people with dementia will wander and a person with Alzheimer's may not remember his or her name or address, and can become disoriented, even in familiar places. However, Idaho lacks a statewide system to ensure missing persons with dementia can be identified quickly. The Alzheimer’s Association is calling on the Idaho State Legislature to fund a Statewide Endangered and Missing Persons Alert System (EMPA). EMPA alerts are issued when there is concern that a vulnerable adult has wandered. An EMPA alert system will include funding for first responder dementia training and the coordination of search efforts between families, caregivers and local authorities.
Idaho State Plan Overview
In 2012, the Idaho Legislature established the Idaho Alzheimer's Planning Group through passage of Senate Concurrent Resolution 112. Tasked with determining how the state could best assist individuals and families impacted by Alzheimer's disease, the Planning Group included representatives from state agencies, advocacy agencies, academia, and community organizations as well as researchers, caregivers, individuals affected by Alzheimer's, and the Governor. After conducting a year-long state assessment and soliciting input from community stakeholders and the public-at-large, the Planning Group released A State Plan for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Addressing the Needs of Idahoans with ADRD, Their Caregivers, and Family Members in March 2013. The Idaho legislature endorsed the statewide plan with the passage of House Concurrent Resolution 34 in 2013.
Idaho State Advocacy Day
February 15, 2022
Join fellow Alzheimer’s advocates on Tuesday, February 15th through Friday, February 18th, as we rally state lawmakers to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for assisted living facilities and provide funding for a statewide Silver Alert System. Advocates will come together to hear from state leaders, understand the Alzheimer’s Association’s leading asks during the legislative session and meet with state legislators to share their story and urge support of these critical priorities.
