Springfield – Members of SEIU Healthcare Illinois – an 85,000-member union of health care, long-term care and child care workers – warned members of the General Assembly today that a budget gap of $40 million for senior home care, on top of millions more in unpaid bills, could lead to service cuts for seniors. The Illinois House of Representatives reviewed the proposed FY10 budget for the Community Care Program at a meeting of the House Human Services Committee yesterday.
“A $40 million hole in the home care budget is a serious threat to tens of thousands of Illinois seniors and their families,” said Marlin Hosick, a 73-year-old Pekin resident who receives home care through the Community Care Program. “Cutting a few hours of care a week may not seem like a big deal to number crunchers, but for many seniors and our families it determines whether or not we are able to stay in our homes and near our loved ones.”
The Community Care Program allows 51,000 Illinois seniors to receive the quality, reliable care they need while maintaining their independence and avoiding more costly nursing homes. Enrollment in the Community Care Program has grown steadily since FY02, with caseloads increasing by 9% from FY08 to FY09 alone. A budget gap of $40 million or more means the program will be unable to sustain any growth in FY10 without forcing home care service cuts to seniors.
Last year, the state threatened across-the-board cuts in hours for seniors in the program due to budget constraints, but abandoned them in the face of a groundswell of opposition from seniors who depend on the program.
“The state did the right thing by abandoning their plan for cuts in service last year, but that was only a short-term solution,” said Alberta Walker, home care worker and member of SEIU Healthcare Illinois. “This year, we’re facing the same problem – an under-funded home care budget that will put quality care for tens of thousands of seniors at risk all over again unless lawmakers make fully funding home care a priority.”
“Home care agencies can’t withstand another year of payment delays that hurt our ability to serve the growing number of Illinois seniors in need of care,” explained Sue Bohenstengel, executive director of the Illinois Association of Community Care Program Homecare Providers (IACCPHP). “With an economic crisis and the lingering effects of last year’s delayed payments from the state, we’re already stretched too thin. Cuts to the Community Care Program would put our ability to provide quality home care for Illinois seniors in serious jeopardy.”
The state’s $12.4 billion deficit and the deteriorating national economy have meant more working families are depending on essential services like home care. SEIU Healthcare Illinois has joined a broad coalition of community, advocacy and labor organizations in the
Campaign for Illinois’ Future to educate Illinois voters and lawmakers about the need for a budget that includes enough new revenue to address the structural deficit and prevent devastating cuts to programs while ensuring fairness for working families.