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Panel warns HCBS funding gaps, Meals on Wheels waitlists threaten aging‑in‑place goals
Summary
Panelists told the symposium Medicaid HCBS funding and workforce shortages limit aging‑in‑place options; they cited program costs (home care ~$1,600/month, skilled nursing ~$5,500/month) and growing waitlists for Meals on Wheels that impede keeping people at home.
A panel on independence and aging in place focused on practical barriers keeping older Utahns from remaining at home. Matt Hanson (Home Health and Hospice Association) called funding the "short answer" to the question of greatest need and walked through costs for home and institutional care: he said the New Choices HCBS waiver averaged about $1,600 per person per month for home care at the end of 2023, while assisted living was roughly $2,600/month and skilled nursing about $5,500/month.
Paul Leggett (Salt Lake County Division of Aging) stressed that nutrition, transportation and housing repeatedly top local needs lists and warned that Meals on Wheels programs now have waitlists in some counties. Dr. Beth Pfalff emphasized cognitive impairment as a key factor that limits safe aging in place and urged early testing and caregiver support. Panelists recommended better connections between paid providers and informal caregivers, more funding to bring programs to scale and workforce strategies — including education, higher reimbursement rates and possibly new long‑term care funding models — to avert service collapse.
