Did you know Michigan families with aging members have fewer in-home care options than families in most other states? The reason is driven by budgeting choices made in Lansing. Only around 30% of Michigan’s Medicaid long-term care dollars are directed to Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), while the other 70% goes to institutional care. By comparison, the national average for Medicaid HCBS spending is 53%.
What does this reduced spending on HCBS mean for you and your loved ones? It means that individuals who need food, personal care, and transportation assistance are placed on waiting lists, and those who want to stay in their homes have no choice but to move into nursing homes.
Michigan ranks near the bottom of the list when it comes to Medicaid spending on home-based care services. This is a gap your legislators can close. It’s time for family caregivers and older adults to urge our state legislators to rebalance and expand programs that allow more individuals to access in-home care and prevent additional costly nursing home admissions.
You can help—and it only takes five minutes!
What it is: MI Choice is Michigan’s Medicaid Waiver Program. The ‘waiver’ refers to a provision that allows states to provide certain Medicaid-funded services in the home rather than only in institutional settings.
Why it matters to families: 88% of older adults want to age at home, not in an institution. Home-based care through MI Choice costs 62% less than nursing home care, for the same level of support.
What’s at risk: Without increased state support for MI Choice, eligibility for at-home care will tighten, waiting lists for services will grow, and some families will lose the option for at-home care altogether.
Bottom line: Protecting MI Choice is how we can act to protect each family’s right to choose where care happens.
The request: The Silver Key Coalition is committed to ensuring older adults and those with disabilities, including non-Medicaid recipients, can live safely and independently in their own homes. The coalition is currently asking the state legislature to invest in programs that make aging at home actually work: in-home care and home-delivered meals. These are the services that determine whether staying at home is possible or not.
The problem: Home-based care services are underfunded, which results in long waiting lists. More than 6,600 Michiganders are currently waiting for help bathing, eating, and getting rides to appointments.
The goal this year: Make Michigan a “No-Wait State,” where no older adult ever experiences a waiting period for needed in-home services.
If you’re the spouse or adult child of an elderly or disabled individual who requires assistance—whether with bathing, meals, healthcare or transportation—you know how difficult it can be to provide that assistance by yourself. An already stressful situation becomes even more upsetting if your loved one wants to remain in their home but must move into an institution to receive the services they need.
Decisions being made in Lansing right now will determine what kind of care is available and affordable for your grandparents, your parents, or yourself.
Family caregivers are the largest unpaid workforce in Michigan’s care system. That perspective is exactly what’s missing from most legislative inboxes. A short letter from someone who uses MI Choice, or whose mother is on a waiting list for Silver Key services, carries weight that yet another data point can’t. And you don’t need to be a policy expert! You just need to be specific about what the service means to your family and what would happen without it.
Policy decisions about aging in Michigan shouldn’t be made without input from the people who live with them. Silver Key Coalition exists because advocates saw an unmet need and spoke up. They continue because people keep speaking up.
Your letter is one of those voices, and right now, it counts more than it has in years.
Aging well in Michigan depends on the choices made in Lansing this year — and on the people willing to weigh in on them. The Senior Alliance is here as your Area Agency on Aging to help you stay informed, supported, and heard. Learn more about our advocacy efforts and how you can take action.
Share either link with one other person—a sibling, neighbor, fellow caregiver, or older friend—who has reason to care and act.
The MI Choice Program provides federally-matched Medicaid funding for programs for those who qualify financially. The Silver Key Coalition is an advocacy organization supporting Michigan in-home services and senior nutrition services. These state-funded programs serve a broader population, including people who don’t qualify for Medicaid.
Individuals must be Michigan residents and meet MI Choice age and income considerations. The Senior Alliance can help you determine what services are available to you or your loved ones.
Yes! Legislative offices track all letters and phone calls they receive from constituents, and personal letters from constituents carry more weight than form letters. Adding one or two sentences of personal story meaningfully increases impact.
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