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Last modified: Friday, October 24, 2008 4:34 PM CDT
Hoeven has plan to enhance senior care
by Erin C. Hevern • Daily News
Editor's note: This is the second article in a two part series about Gov. John Hoeven, R-ND, and his campaign for re-election for governor in the state of North Dakota.
To give seniors a greater experience living in the state of North Dakota, Gov. John Hoeven, R-ND, has developed a four-step health care plan to help them maintain high levels of independence and security.
Hoeven, if re-elected, would enter his second term as Governor. He released a plan which includes more than $17 million to expand home and community-based care for the elderly.
"We brought forward a plan to not only give seniors more choice but also to help them stay in their homes longer," Hoeven said.
The plan includes an initiative — an Aged and Disabled Resource Center (ADCR), which would serve as a "single point of entry" for long-term care services. Skilled Resource Center staff will be available to work with the elderly and their families in order to find them proper support and care services.
All in all, Hoeven said ADCR will give seniors more choices.
In a current personal care service plan the maximum number of hours of assistance available to seniors is 64. Hoeven has proposed raising that number to 80 hours, providing the elderly with more assistance in the home with duties such as housekeeping and preparing meals.
A new initiative — Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), which began in Bismarck and Dickinson, is another way to help elderly stay in their homes longer.
Hoeven said it's a managed care program that covers a range of services such as transportation, laundry, and again, in-home meals.
Hoeven's fourth proposal to improve senior health care involved increasing the income level at which an individual or two-person household can be at to still qualify for home-based care under Medicaid. The amount of income eligible individuals could keep for basic needs would increase from $500 to $720 for a one-person household and from $516 to $969 for a two-person household.
Beyond the four steps to improve senior citizen health care, Hoeven also plans to continue a partnership with the federal government on providing access to quality and affordable health care.
Whether Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. John McCain is the next president of the United States, North Dakota's plan would work in tandem with the the federal government's, Hoeven said.
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