11-26-1984 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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spent on in -home and community support services such as home nursing. home health aide. homemaker, chore services and adult day rare. The number of elderly Minnesotans living in nursing homes grew sharply over the last decade, from 29,000 persons in 1970 to 40.000 persons to 1980 Most of this increase can be traced to the increase to the population 85 and over Projected increases in the very old population. those most at risk of needing long-term care. indicate a contin. uation Of enormous growth in spending for institutional care. By 1990. a 22 percent increase in the number of nursing home residents can be expected if Minnesota continues to rely on nursing horses as it has in the past This means that another 10.500 beds would have to be built to order to accommodate this population growth, and public expenditures would rise to over nyi 5 billion annually by the end of the decade The public financial requirements for this expansion of facilities and services are significant and unsettling. especially in view of con- cerns about Minnesota's business climate and tax policies. It is unlikely, however, that the expansion of our long- term care system which occurred in the 1960s and 1970s can be replicated in the 1980s and 1990s Tax- payers won I lolerale it and public officials know it Wit- ness the following a Minnesota has revised its nursing horse reimburse - anent formula under Medicaid from a cost-plus formula to a flat rate system and placed a moratorium on the con- struction of new nursing home beds. is The federal government has given states permission to require financial contributions from families loward the care of elderly to nursing homes who are supported by Medicaid a Medicare will now reimburse hospitals a flat fee on the basis of diagnosis. creating an incentive fur early dis- charge of elderly patients who may then need follow-up care. The effects of these cost -containment efforts will take time to realize, but it is doubtful that they will be sufficient to reduce the current aged population's dependency on the public sector Clearly the coming population explo- sion among the very Old threatens the states ability to finance long-term care services in the future Minnesota must find different ways of caring for the elderly espe- cially the very old We must find ways of meeting their needs without compromising the quality of care that Min- nesotans have corne to expect FIGURE 4 Comparison of Residence of the Elderly and Public Long -Term Care Expenditures Minnesota, 1980 RESIDENCE OF ELDERLY POPULATION PUBLIC LONG-TERM CARE EXPENDITURES IN HOME INSTITUTIONALIZED COMMUNITY BA 4fi'o SE RVIC Y I tS c o NURSING HOME CANE a o C e Total Severely Imj; aired' Total Service Expenditures f Population 65*. $422 million 3 100,000 Persons Sixty percent of Marne%ola'a severely impaired elderly population live in their own homes but they receive only tp percent of public service e.prndifures for their care