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Executive Office of Aging plans caseload management, warns of federal funding uncertainty
Summary
Secretary Robin Lipson told the Joint Committee on Ways and Means that EOAI’s governor‑recommended FY26 budget would increase funding by about 21% but that federal funding uncertainty and rising demand require managing state‑funded home care caseloads to preserve services for current clients.
Robin Lipson, secretary of the Executive Office of Aging and Independence, told the Joint Committee on Ways and Means that the governor’s FY26 budget request increases the agency’s appropriation by roughly 21% and seeks to preserve municipal investments in councils on aging and home‑and‑community supports. But she said increasing demand — driven in particular by growth in the 80+ population — and uncertainty about federal funds require some program management.
Lipson outlined the EOAI portfolio: support to roughly 350 councils on aging, nutrition programs that deliver more than 10 million meals annually, protective services that handle about 40,000 reports a year, certification of nearly 270 assisted‑living facilities, and home‑care programs that help about 70,000 vulnerable older adults remain at home.
What the agency will do Lipson said EOAI will manage intake and caseloads for the fully state‑funded home‑care program (not the MassHealth‑reimbursed program) so that the number of people advancing into an enhanced, higher‑cost level of home care can be controlled. She stressed that current enrollees will not be disenrolled and people who already need the most intensive assistance will not be required to wait: "No one will be disenrolled for the program. Everyone who's in the program will continue to be in the program as they are today," Lipson said.
Federal funding uncertainty Lipson flagged a federal implementation issue affecting Older Americans Act funds: the federal agency that disperses most of the state’s Older Americans Act funding has been reorganized and EOAI has been told the money exists but not yet who will issue the checks. EOAI receives roughly $40 million annually from the Older Americans Act and Lipson said the office is "watching very, very carefully."
Principles guiding decisions Lipson said the agency’s fiscal choices rest on four principles: preserve small community investments that yield large benefits (meals, senior‑center programming), prioritize those most at risk of nursing‑home admission, focus on efficiency and program integrity, and preserve workforce and infrastructure gains to avoid new access gaps.
New and continuing investments The governor’s budget would create a $1 million line for local age‑friendly mini‑grants and preserve other core programs. Lipson asked legislators to partner with the agency given the demographic pressures driving caseload growth and program demand.
