On LI, bipartisan push for more state funding for in-home elder care
Helen McKeon is pictured in her Hicksville home in the fall. The senior citizen told Newsday she was among local seniors on a waiting list for assistance through the state's Expanded In-Home Services for the Elderly Program. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
A bipartisan group of 30 Nassau and Suffolk county legislators has called on Gov. Kathy Hochul to dramatically increase funding in the next state budget to eliminate a waitlist for in-home services for the elderly.
A letter, issued Dec. 11 with AARP New York, asks Hochul to provide an additional $83 million in her 2025-26 state budget proposal — set to be unveiled next month — to eliminate the backlog in the Expanded In-Home Services for the Elderly (EISEP) program. Such a funding boost, which would come on top of the $68.3 million budgeted for 2024-25, would amount to a 121% increase.
The program assists 10,585 seniors statewide with services such as housekeeping, transportation, toileting, bathing and home-delivered meals. The state funds EISEP and county officials administer it for people 60 and older who earn above the Medicaid level but can't afford to pay for private home and community-based services.
"There is no reason why families on Long Island and across New York State should struggle to keep their loved ones at home, where they want to be," said the letter, co-signed by 18 Nassau lawmakers, 12 from Suffolk and AARP State Director Beth Finkel. "Lack of sufficient funding for this critical program is forcing families to make tough decisions regarding placing a loved one in a nursing home, which drives up costs to the state and counties."
Representatives with the New York State Office for the Aging and with Hochul's office didn't respond to requests for comment about the letter.
On Long Island, EISEP had more than 1,200 unfilled requests for services by last fall, Newsday reported exclusively in November based on data from the Association on Aging in New York. The Albany-based nonprofit connects county agencies with service providers for the program.
"We're talking about families trying to maintain an older person in their home," Bill Ferris, a lobbyist for AARP New York, said in a recent interview. "That takes money. And if you don't get the services from the state — which is the EISEP program — it's out of pocket."
Elder care advocates have been raising concerns about the waitlist since Hochul last year proposed cutting $9.3 million for EISEP from the state's 2024-25 budget. State lawmakers later restored the cut and added $700,000, with advocates warning that amount was insufficient to make a dent in the backlog. Hochul then signed the budget into law.
Statewide, the backlog of requests for in-home services ticked up 2% from September 2023 to September 2024, with 16,041 unfilled requests for services increasing to 16,396 requests, records show.
AARP officials contend $43 million in additional funding is needed to eliminate the waitlist statewide while another $40 million is necessary to sustain the program and cover inflation and other cost increases.
Greg Olsen, who heads the New York State Office for the Aging, told Newsday in the fall that closing the backlog would cost about $35.6 million. He has said EISEP is critical to keeping seniors in their homes, while helping families avoid paying out of pocket for private services or placing their loved ones in more expensive nursing homes.
Eliminating the waitlist also would save taxpayers an estimated $237 million in annual Medicaid costs, AARP officials said.
As of September, there were 918 unfilled EISEP requests for services in Suffolk, data shows.
Suffolk Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst), who signed the letter to Hochul, said more state funding for the program "will help reduce the cost of Medicaid and eventually the cost for taxpayers."
In Nassau, there were 304 unfilled EISEP requests for services as of September, figures show.
Legis. Debra Mulé (D-Freeport), the ranking member of the county legislature's Senior Affairs committee and a licensed social worker who signed the letter to Hochul, said seniors left indefinitely on the waitlist face serious health risks.
"There could be potential lapses with proper nutrition, with medication, with falls and the ability to make sure that all of your needs are met in home," she said. "It's really about safety."
A bipartisan group of 30 Nassau and Suffolk county legislators has called on Gov. Kathy Hochul to dramatically increase funding in the next state budget to eliminate a waitlist for in-home services for the elderly.
A letter, issued Dec. 11 with AARP New York, asks Hochul to provide an additional $83 million in her 2025-26 state budget proposal — set to be unveiled next month — to eliminate the backlog in the Expanded In-Home Services for the Elderly (EISEP) program. Such a funding boost, which would come on top of the $68.3 million budgeted for 2024-25, would amount to a 121% increase.
The program assists 10,585 seniors statewide with services such as housekeeping, transportation, toileting, bathing and home-delivered meals. The state funds EISEP and county officials administer it for people 60 and older who earn above the Medicaid level but can't afford to pay for private home and community-based services.
"There is no reason why families on Long Island and across New York State should struggle to keep their loved ones at home, where they want to be," said the letter, co-signed by 18 Nassau lawmakers, 12 from Suffolk and AARP State Director Beth Finkel. "Lack of sufficient funding for this critical program is forcing families to make tough decisions regarding placing a loved one in a nursing home, which drives up costs to the state and counties."
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- A bipartisan group of 30 county lawmakers in Nassau and Suffolk signed a letter calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to dramatically increase funding for a program that provides in-home care services for the elderly.
- The lawmakers are asking for an additional $83 million in the 2025-26 state budget in an effort to eliminate a backlog of unfilled requests for aid in the Expanded In-Home Services for the Elderly program.
- State figures showed that on Long Island, there were more than 1,200 unfilled requests as of September, including for housekeeping, transportation and meal delivery, Newsday previously reported.
Representatives with the New York State Office for the Aging and with Hochul's office didn't respond to requests for comment about the letter.
On Long Island, EISEP had more than 1,200 unfilled requests for services by last fall, Newsday reported exclusively in November based on data from the Association on Aging in New York. The Albany-based nonprofit connects county agencies with service providers for the program.
"We're talking about families trying to maintain an older person in their home," Bill Ferris, a lobbyist for AARP New York, said in a recent interview. "That takes money. And if you don't get the services from the state — which is the EISEP program — it's out of pocket."
Elder care advocates have been raising concerns about the waitlist since Hochul last year proposed cutting $9.3 million for EISEP from the state's 2024-25 budget. State lawmakers later restored the cut and added $700,000, with advocates warning that amount was insufficient to make a dent in the backlog. Hochul then signed the budget into law.
Statewide, the backlog of requests for in-home services ticked up 2% from September 2023 to September 2024, with 16,041 unfilled requests for services increasing to 16,396 requests, records show.
AARP officials contend $43 million in additional funding is needed to eliminate the waitlist statewide while another $40 million is necessary to sustain the program and cover inflation and other cost increases.
Greg Olsen, who heads the New York State Office for the Aging, told Newsday in the fall that closing the backlog would cost about $35.6 million. He has said EISEP is critical to keeping seniors in their homes, while helping families avoid paying out of pocket for private services or placing their loved ones in more expensive nursing homes.
Eliminating the waitlist also would save taxpayers an estimated $237 million in annual Medicaid costs, AARP officials said.
As of September, there were 918 unfilled EISEP requests for services in Suffolk, data shows.
Suffolk Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst), who signed the letter to Hochul, said more state funding for the program "will help reduce the cost of Medicaid and eventually the cost for taxpayers."
In Nassau, there were 304 unfilled EISEP requests for services as of September, figures show.
Legis. Debra Mulé (D-Freeport), the ranking member of the county legislature's Senior Affairs committee and a licensed social worker who signed the letter to Hochul, said seniors left indefinitely on the waitlist face serious health risks.
"There could be potential lapses with proper nutrition, with medication, with falls and the ability to make sure that all of your needs are met in home," she said. "It's really about safety."
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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