Your Opinion: Bill sponsor responds

Dear Editor:

The News Tribune has questioned whether honesty and kindness prevail when it comes to care for the elderly. Of course they do. We see it every day in the thousands of caregivers - family and professionals, unpaid and paid - who help to make sure that elders, in their homes and other settings across Missouri, receive the care, attention and compassion they deserve.

I saw it when I met Bill, a constituent of mine. A retired flight engineer for McDonnell Douglas, Bill became a caregiver for his sister after she suffered a debilitating stroke. Bill had his wife's support to bring his sister home and help provide care, but he quickly learned about the challenges of being a full-time caregiver. While researching resources, Bill learned about Structured Family Caregiving and came to talk to me because the model is not available in our state.

HB1753 would make Structured Family Caregiving available to Medicaid-eligible elders in Missouri. The model has proven quality outcomes and produced savings for Medicaid in other states. My legislation would simply make this new option available for those for whom our state is otherwise paying for care.

As the name implies, Structured Family Caregiving provides structure to support caregivers and ensure sufficient protections to prevent waste and abuse. Those protections include rigorous screening and oversight of caregivers, including in-person visits and daily communication between caregivers and professional care teams from an approved agency. In administering the program, MO HealthNet would establish any other rules necessary to ensure the appropriate use of the service.

I am, of course, concerned about ensuring that elders receive quality care through programs that include sufficient protections. I am as concerned about making sure that elders have choices to receive care at home and that caregivers have the support they need. I look forward to incorporating the positive suggestions received to date as I work, with the assistance of the Missouri Alzheimer's Association and other advocates, toward passage of the legislation.

Our state is aging and the demand for services to support elders at home is growing. Services like Structured Family Caregiving will help us to meet that need. I believe we can both ensure quality care and the appropriate use of taxpayer resources and also provide families like Bill's with the real support they need to care for their loved ones at home.