Middle-Income Seniors Will Find It Hard to Pay for Housing by 2033

Mark R. Ustin, regulatory and government relations lawyer at Farrell Fritz in Albany, NY., spoke with GlobeSt.com, regarding coverage on research that finds “Middle-Income Seniors Will Find It Hard to Pay for Housing by 2033.”

“This study shines an important light on the challenges faced by middle-income seniors seeking to access assisted living services. It is true that most assisted living providers have focused on the higher-income private pay market, and that lower-income seniors can have access to Medicaid-funded alternatives.

“However, the Medicaid side of the equation is not always so clear – because Medicaid benefits vary by state, very often even lower-income seniors do not have access to assisted living services because their state has either refused to cover them or has offered reimbursement rates or coverage limits so low that development of Medicaid-funded alternatives is effectively discouraged.

“And of course, Medicaid eligibility also varies by state – so that a person in need of assisted living may not qualify for Medicaid in one state, but may qualify in a state with more generous eligibility rules that effectively provide Medicaid coverage for much of the middle class.”

He said to ensure that middle- and lower-income seniors have fair access to assisted living, it is important for states to provide Medicaid eligibility rules and reimbursement amounts that are sufficient to incentivize providers to develop more of such services.