Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
AGENCY TESTIMONY
Home care, caregiving services, and community care initiatives
0:21:48
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5 min
Commissioner Cortés-Vázquez discusses DFTA's home care and caregiving services, emphasizing their role in supporting community care and allowing older New Yorkers to age in place. She also addresses broader community care initiatives and future challenges.
- Home care services are provided through Medicaid reimbursement and the Expanded In-Home Services for Older Adults (EISEP) program.
- DFTA is advocating for a permanent 55¢ per hour wage match for EISEP home care workers to achieve parity with Medicaid home care workers.
- The home care program is funded at $36.5 million in FY2025.
- Caregiver support programs, funded at $8.5 million in FY2025, offer respite care and other services to an estimated 1.3 million New York caregivers.
- Community care is more cost-effective than institutional care, with an average cost of $32,000 per person per year compared to $160,980 for institutional care.
- DFTA continues to seek ways to match programs with increased demand for aging services, while being concerned about potential changes in federal funding and administration.
Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez
0:21:48
And home care and caregiving services, a hallmark of a community care plan.
0:21:55
A number of older adults live in New York City continues to grow and it is imperative that we continue to grow the community care support systems which allow older New Yorkers to remain in the communities they build and to truly age in place.
0:22:10
We do this through home care home care giving services, which greatly serve those who are homebound in need of additional support.
0:22:20
Home care services are provided through Medicaid reimbursement for those who do not qualify for Medicaid programs through the expanded in home services for older adults, ISEP.
0:22:34
The service hours are reimbursed to providers.
0:22:37
Currently we're advocating that New York State Legislature make permanent the inclusion which passed last year of a 55¢ per hour wage match for ISEP home care workers which would bring them into parity with Medicaid home care workers who already received the raises.
0:22:57
As you know this is a key component of community care and being able to change age in place is an overwhelming preference of older New Yorkers which also improves their health outcomes.
0:23:09
We welcome your support and advocacy in this regard.
0:23:13
Without ICEP, clients are at
Crystal Hudson
0:23:15
a
Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez
0:23:15
disadvantage when Medicaid home workers are not incentivized to take on those clients because their pay is higher.
0:23:24
There is no distinction between the ICEP Medicaid home care worker.
0:23:28
They are primarily women of color and this is exacerbating inequity because of salary.
0:23:37
Currently the home care program at NYC Aging is funded at 36,500,000.0 in FY twenty five but it does not include the wage increases to match the salaries of the Medicaid home care worker.
0:23:52
This occurred in previous years and was resolved in part with help from advocates and some on this council to ensure that aging service workers who frequently are women and women of color are not left out of needed pay increases for critical aging services.
0:24:11
Many older adults are caretakers for their aging parents and spouses.
0:24:16
Many are caregivers who also have full time jobs.
0:24:20
The caregiver program offers options for respite care through home care participation in social adult day care centers as well as other services.
0:24:32
There are an estimated 1,300,000 New Yorkers who function as a caregiver.
0:24:37
Without the support of care for daily living activities and respite care, many of these caretakers would not have the financial means or the ability to leave the care recipient in someone else's care while they take a needed break from their caregiving responsibilities.
0:24:56
Chair, you know that experience personally, as so do I.
0:25:00
We know the cost of maintaining an older adult in institutionalized care is far higher when compared to the cost of community care options, such as supporting, including supporting caregivers.
0:25:13
Its cost on the average is $160,980 to house an older adult in institutional care Whereas the average cost of a community care service plan is roughly 32,000 per person per year.
0:25:30
In FY twenty five funding for the caregiver program is projected to be 8,500,000.0.
0:25:37
Caregiver supports positively impact the health and well-being of the older adults, stability in the family while aligning with the cultural background of the individual.
0:25:49
This is why community care is so incredibly important to the future of this city and to the future of older New Yorkers.
0:25:56
These are integrated services for home assistance which care for daily living needs such as bathing, food prep, shopping, transportation, meal provisions.
0:26:07
All that can help an older adult live longer in their community which is their desired and shared outcome.
0:26:15
I have personal experience with this as I take care of my 95 year old mother who wants to remain in her home and who needs additional care.
0:26:26
I am proud of the work that we do at NYC Aging and the work that we do in partnership with our providers and what we accomplish with the resources that we have.
0:26:36
This past year has shown where NYC Aging as a whole can look to efficiencies and improvement in our programs and truly meet the needs of older New Yorkers.
0:26:46
This mindset has allowed us to weather financial challenges in previous years and confront the growing needs in aging services in New York City where we know the population 60 will continue to grow.
0:27:00
Admissed all this, we continue to be good stewards of public dollars.
0:27:04
That said, given the need for further investment from state and federal partners, we are concerned about the current presidential administration and the changes that may affect NYC aging and the Older Americans Act.
0:27:19
It is imperative now more than ever that New York City receive its fair share of aging services funded through federal grants and state grants and to be continually dispersed to support these vital programs.
0:27:31
As I've said time and time again, while the needs of older adults outpace the resources in aging services, I look forward to continuing ways to match our programs to meet this increased demand.
0:27:45
Thank you for your time.