Wait-listed for help: More than 1,200 in-home care requests from LI seniors unfilled
Helen McKeon often will skip meals because of a lack of groceries in her Hicksville home or an aide to help with the cooking.
The 93-year-old said she has been waiting for home care assistance since December and if help doesn't come soon, she may have no choice but to move into an assisted living facility.
McKeon is among the Long Island senior citizens on a waitlist for assistance through the state's Expanded In-Home Services for the Elderly Program, or EISEP, that locally has more than 1,200 unfilled requests for services.
"Things are very hard," said McKeon, who lives alone and gets periodic help from family. Two years ago, she fell in her basement and broke a hip, before it took her two days to crawl to a phone and call 911.
Since then, things haven't gotten better.
"I can't sleep at night. A lot of times I go without food because I don't have enough in the house," she said.
McKeon is not alone.
An increasing number of elderly New Yorkers are waiting for services such as home-delivered meals, personal care assistance and transportation, largely due to what advocacy groups representing seniors contend is insufficient statewide funding. The funding shortage is forcing some of the vulnerable population into hospitals, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, they said.
Statewide, the backlog of EISEP requests ticked up 2%, from 16,041 unfilled requests for services in September 2023 to 16,396 requests this past September, according to data collected by the Association on Aging in New York. The Albany-based nonprofit connects the state's county agencies with service providers for the program.
The total number of seniors on the waitlist doesn't match the number of requests because some people are waiting for multiple services, according to elder advocates involved with the program.
Long Island's data showed a more positive trend compared with all of New York, with the backlog of local unfilled service requests declining 20% since 2023 — from 1,536 in September 2023 compared with 1,222 this past September.
But Becky Preve, executive director of the Association on Aging in New York, said the backlog of requests "does not come close" to capturing the full scope of the problem, as many elderly New Yorkers are in crisis and can't wait indefinitely for services.
"When people are coming to our network and they have an immediate need for a service that will help an older individual stay in a home or community, they can't afford to be placed on a waiting list," said Preve, who added that less than 1% of the state budget is devoted to services for the aging.
The state funds EISEP and county officials administer the program for people 60 and older who earn above the Medicaid level but can't afford to pay for private home and community-based services.
Records show the type of services offered through EISEP, which assists 10,585 seniors statewide, expanded in 2024 to include new categories such as telephone and in-person check-ins on seniors, along with assistance with household chores — contributing to the increased waitlist.
Closing the backlog will cost $35.6 million, Greg Olsen, who heads the New York State Office for the Aging, said in an interview Wednesday. Two weeks ago, he spoke at a State Assembly hearing on the issue.
"If you're an 83-year-old female, low income who lives alone and has four to 10 chronic conditions ... that basically means you need assistance getting up in the morning, bathing, dressing, shopping, preparing meals, going to the bathroom," he said at the hearing. "Are you going to be able to stay in your home without assistance? The answer is most likely no."
Olsen said EISEP is critical to keeping some 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 — which cost an average of $100,000 annually.
Comparatively, the cost to serve a high-risk EISEP client with four or more chronic conditions and who needs assistance with daily activities, is less than $10,000 annually, the Office for the Aging said in a 2023 report.
Closing the waitlist also would save taxpayers an estimated $237 million in annual Medicaid costs, AARP officials said during the hearing.
An analysis of 2,200 clients in the program showed 10% of those on the waitlist eventually moved to a nursing home and 7% applied for either Managed Long Term Care or community Medicaid, both significantly more expensive programs funded by taxpayers, according to the 2023 state report.
As of September in Suffolk County, there were 918 unfilled EISEP requests for services, down from 1,173 at that point in 2023, state figures show. Nassau County saw its backlog of requests for services dip from 363 to 304 in the same period, figures show. The state data also indicates:
As of September, there were 567 pending requests for service in Suffolk and 207 in Nassau for help with case management services for assistance navigating the labyrinth of state systems and programs, There's a backlog of 136 requests in Suffolk for personal care, such as housekeeping, bathing and toileting, while there are 57 such requests in Nassau, In Suffolk, there are 139 requests on the waitlist for home-delivered meals and 76 requests for caregiver services, In addition, there are 40 pending requests in Nassau for transportation assistance,.
Representatives for the county Offices for the Aging in Suffolk and Nassau didn't respond to requests for comment.
Bayport resident Donna Calandra said her parents, Gertrude and Donald Morck, ages 93 and 95, respectively, of Hicksville, have been on the waitlist for homecare services since July. Her father has dementia, she said.
Without the ability to care for themselves, Calandra said the family hired private aides for the couple — with the cost totaling nearly $100,000 since May.
"Getting off the waitlist would certainly save us a lot of money," said Calandra, who added it also would help keep her parents in their home of 71 years instead of a move to assisted living they're resisting.
"We can't afford this anymore. The money is depleting," she said.
Beth Finkel, statewide director of AARP New York, said during the Assembly hearing that the waitlist puts families in untenable situations.
"We're all in recognition that this is a completely and totally unacceptable situation that we've found ourselves in where older New Yorkers are unsafe in their own homes because they're having to wait for services," Finkel said. "They're, in fact, ending up in ERs. They're ending up dying while waiting for services. And this just cannot continue."
In addition to the insufficient funding, advocates for seniors said the backlog is a product of the region's rapidly growing senior population, a shortage of home care workers, inflationary cost increases for meals and home delivery services and a mandated wage increase for home care workers that was funded for Medicaid providers but not the local aging services network.
Data the U.S. Census Bureau released in May 2023 showed Long Island's 65 and over population increased 3.8% between 2010 and 2020, rising from 14.3% of the population to 18.1%, Newsday reported last year. It also showed the statewide population of people 65 and over rose from 13.5% in 2010 to 16.9% in 2020.
Elder care advocates have been sounding the alarm about the waitlist since Gov. Kathy Hochul last year proposed cutting $9.3 million for the program from the state's 2024-25 budget.
State lawmakers restored the cut and added $700,000, even as advocates for seniors said at the time the amount was insufficient to make a dent in the backlog. Hochul then signed the budget into law. Her office didn't respond to a request for comment.
Olsen told Newsday in a statement the state has invested $132 million to close the backlog since the 2019-20 state budget.
"This dedicated investment has extended services and supports to thousands more individuals awaiting community-based services to help them age in place," the statement added.
But Bill Ferris, a lobbyist for AARP New York, said in an interview that the backlog will not disappear unless Hochul prioritizes the program in next year's budget.
"We've said all along to the legislature that if you don't address this problem, it's only going to get worse," Ferris said. "And we have an indication now that the problem did get worse and more funding is needed."
Helen McKeon often will skip meals because of a lack of groceries in her Hicksville home or an aide to help with the cooking.
The 93-year-old said she has been waiting for home care assistance since December and if help doesn't come soon, she may have no choice but to move into an assisted living facility.
McKeon is among the Long Island senior citizens on a waitlist for assistance through the state's Expanded In-Home Services for the Elderly Program, or EISEP, that locally has more than 1,200 unfilled requests for services.
"Things are very hard," said McKeon, who lives alone and gets periodic help from family. Two years ago, she fell in her basement and broke a hip, before it took her two days to crawl to a phone and call 911.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Records show a state program that provides in-home services for the elderly such as personal care assistance and meals has a backlog of nearly 16,400 requests for services, up 2% over the past year.
- Data shows the picture is somewhat better on Long Island, where the waitlist dipped 20% since 2023, but still has more than 1,200 unfilled requests.
- Advocates for the elderly said the program is critical when it comes to keeping seniors in their homes, while helping families avoid paying out of pocket for services or moving loved ones to nursing homes.
Since then, things haven't gotten better.
"I can't sleep at night. A lot of times I go without food because I don't have enough in the house," she said.
McKeon is not alone.
An increasing number of elderly New Yorkers are waiting for services such as home-delivered meals, personal care assistance and transportation, largely due to what advocacy groups representing seniors contend is insufficient statewide funding. The funding shortage is forcing some of the vulnerable population into hospitals, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, they said.
Statewide, the backlog of EISEP requests ticked up 2%, from 16,041 unfilled requests for services in September 2023 to 16,396 requests this past September, according to data collected by the Association on Aging in New York. The Albany-based nonprofit connects the state's county agencies with service providers for the program.
The total number of seniors on the waitlist doesn't match the number of requests because some people are waiting for multiple services, according to elder advocates involved with the program.
Long Island's data showed a more positive trend compared with all of New York, with the backlog of local unfilled service requests declining 20% since 2023 — from 1,536 in September 2023 compared with 1,222 this past September.
But Becky Preve, executive director of the Association on Aging in New York, said the backlog of requests "does not come close" to capturing the full scope of the problem, as many elderly New Yorkers are in crisis and can't wait indefinitely for services.
"When people are coming to our network and they have an immediate need for a service that will help an older individual stay in a home or community, they can't afford to be placed on a waiting list," said Preve, who added that less than 1% of the state budget is devoted to services for the aging.
The state funds EISEP and county officials administer the program for people 60 and older who earn above the Medicaid level but can't afford to pay for private home and community-based services.
Cost to close backlog
Records show the type of services offered through EISEP, which assists 10,585 seniors statewide, expanded in 2024 to include new categories such as telephone and in-person check-ins on seniors, along with assistance with household chores — contributing to the increased waitlist.
Closing the backlog will cost $35.6 million, Greg Olsen, who heads the New York State Office for the Aging, said in an interview Wednesday. Two weeks ago, he spoke at a State Assembly hearing on the issue.
"If you're an 83-year-old female, low income who lives alone and has four to 10 chronic conditions ... that basically means you need assistance getting up in the morning, bathing, dressing, shopping, preparing meals, going to the bathroom," he said at the hearing. "Are you going to be able to stay in your home without assistance? The answer is most likely no."
Olsen said EISEP is critical to keeping some 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 — which cost an average of $100,000 annually.
Comparatively, the cost to serve a high-risk EISEP client with four or more chronic conditions and who needs assistance with daily activities, is less than $10,000 annually, the Office for the Aging said in a 2023 report.
Closing the waitlist also would save taxpayers an estimated $237 million in annual Medicaid costs, AARP officials said during the hearing.
An analysis of 2,200 clients in the program showed 10% of those on the waitlist eventually moved to a nursing home and 7% applied for either Managed Long Term Care or community Medicaid, both significantly more expensive programs funded by taxpayers, according to the 2023 state report.
Waitlist on LI
As of September in Suffolk County, there were 918 unfilled EISEP requests for services, down from 1,173 at that point in 2023, state figures show. Nassau County saw its backlog of requests for services dip from 363 to 304 in the same period, figures show. The state data also indicates:
- As of September, there were 567 pending requests for service in Suffolk and 207 in Nassau for help with case management services for assistance navigating the labyrinth of state systems and programs.
- There's a backlog of 136 requests in Suffolk for personal care, such as housekeeping, bathing and toileting, while there are 57 such requests in Nassau.
- In Suffolk, there are 139 requests on the waitlist for home-delivered meals and 76 requests for caregiver services.
- In addition, there are 40 pending requests in Nassau for transportation assistance.
Representatives for the county Offices for the Aging in Suffolk and Nassau didn't respond to requests for comment.
Bayport resident Donna Calandra said her parents, Gertrude and Donald Morck, ages 93 and 95, respectively, of Hicksville, have been on the waitlist for homecare services since July. Her father has dementia, she said.
Without the ability to care for themselves, Calandra said the family hired private aides for the couple — with the cost totaling nearly $100,000 since May.
"Getting off the waitlist would certainly save us a lot of money," said Calandra, who added it also would help keep her parents in their home of 71 years instead of a move to assisted living they're resisting.
"We can't afford this anymore. The money is depleting," she said.
Beth Finkel, statewide director of AARP New York, said during the Assembly hearing that the waitlist puts families in untenable situations.
"We're all in recognition that this is a completely and totally unacceptable situation that we've found ourselves in where older New Yorkers are unsafe in their own homes because they're having to wait for services," Finkel said. "They're, in fact, ending up in ERs. They're ending up dying while waiting for services. And this just cannot continue."
Elderly population rising
In addition to the insufficient funding, advocates for seniors said the backlog is a product of the region's rapidly growing senior population, a shortage of home care workers, inflationary cost increases for meals and home delivery services and a mandated wage increase for home care workers that was funded for Medicaid providers but not the local aging services network.
Data the U.S. Census Bureau released in May 2023 showed Long Island's 65 and over population increased 3.8% between 2010 and 2020, rising from 14.3% of the population to 18.1%, Newsday reported last year. It also showed the statewide population of people 65 and over rose from 13.5% in 2010 to 16.9% in 2020.
Elder care advocates have been sounding the alarm about the waitlist since Gov. Kathy Hochul last year proposed cutting $9.3 million for the program from the state's 2024-25 budget.
State lawmakers restored the cut and added $700,000, even as advocates for seniors said at the time the amount was insufficient to make a dent in the backlog. Hochul then signed the budget into law. Her office didn't respond to a request for comment.
Olsen told Newsday in a statement the state has invested $132 million to close the backlog since the 2019-20 state budget.
"This dedicated investment has extended services and supports to thousands more individuals awaiting community-based services to help them age in place," the statement added.
But Bill Ferris, a lobbyist for AARP New York, said in an interview that the backlog will not disappear unless Hochul prioritizes the program in next year's budget.
"We've said all along to the legislature that if you don't address this problem, it's only going to get worse," Ferris said. "And we have an indication now that the problem did get worse and more funding is needed."
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
Navigating politics over Thanksgiving and where to get holiday pies. Here's a look at some of the exclusive stories you may have missed this week on NewsdayTV.
Navigating politics over Thanksgiving and where to get holiday pies. Here's a look at some of the exclusive stories you may have missed this week on NewsdayTV.
