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Area agency reports growth in in‑home Medicaid care and flags coverage risk for some noncitizen clients
Summary
Lynn Kimball told the Spokane County commissioners the area agency on aging served roughly 8,700 county residents in 2025, helped secure presumptive Medicaid eligibility for 95 people and reported 5,402 in‑home Medicaid recipients. She warned about a state policy change that may remove coverage for up to about 200 county clients.
Lynn Kimball, executive director of Aging and Long Term Care of Eastern Washington, told the Spokane County Board of County Commissioners on May 19 that the agency served about 8,700 people in the county in 2025 and that county programs helped authorize roughly $250 million in in‑home Medicaid care payments across the state.
Kimball said the agency’s local access point, Community Living Connections, helps residents find services and navigate benefits and that the county’s network delivered more than 180,000 meals to seniors last year through home delivery and congregate meal programs. She said intensive care coordination supported about 855 high‑need Medicaid clients and that volunteers trained more than 2,800 people in dementia awareness and communication.
The agency reported a jump in Medicaid in‑home care recipients in Spokane County to 5,402 this past year from under 5,000 the prior year. Kimball said Spokane County participated in a state presumptive‑eligibility pilot that allowed the agency to start a limited benefit package for people who met basic criteria while the state completed formal eligibility reviews; staff helped about 95 people through that process in the past year, and the majority later received full Medicaid eligibility.
Kimball also described the agency’s role helping organizations and small providers enroll in WA Cares and said the agency conducts local eligibility assessments and provides benefit navigation supports. She warned that a state policy change referenced in the briefing (transcript label “HR 1”) may remove Medicaid coverage for some people who are lawfully present noncitizens; Kimball said roughly 200 Spokane County clients who currently receive paid in‑home care are on the state list of potentially affected cases and that the state has appropriated funding for a new program but is still deciding eligibility rules. Kimball characterized the $20,000,000 figure mentioned in questions as approximate and said she did not have a precise, final amount in the briefing.
Commissioners asked about statewide counts and program timing; Kimball said the statewide list included about 2,000 individuals and that the presumptive‑eligibility pilot will expand statewide in July. She offered to provide follow‑up materials and contact information for residents who need help accessing services.
The briefing closed with Kimball offering to send additional documentation and to answer follow‑up questions from the board. The commissioners did not take a formal vote on any action during the presentation.
