Our Mission:

New call to action!  The state of California's Assisted Living Waiver (ALW) Program is insufficient given the current and future demand for affordable, senior care services.  To date, there are over 2,500 individuals who have qualified, both medically and financially, for the ALW Program but who have been waitlisted.  There are seniors whose medical needs qualify them for the program but whose incomes are not low enough to qualify them for MediCal nor high enough to afford private pay rates. Furthermore, the ALW Program is only operating in 15 of California’s 58 counties and a limited number of assisted living facilities participate in the program because of low reimbursement rates. On the whole, these limitations are leaving seniors and their families without access to much needed services.  California can do better.  

AB 2233 will expand California's MediCal Assisted Living Waiver (ALW) Program by:

There are an estimated 3 million LGBT older adults in the US; by 2030, that number will double. Some of those individuals will become residents of assisted living communities, while still others will require a stay in a skilled nursing facility.  Over the last 10 years, California legislatures have enacted three statutes fostering LGBTQIA cultural competency for workers in long-term care settings, and aiming to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Two bills (SB 1729, 2008 and AB 663, 2013) require professionals in California long-term care facilities (skilled nursing facilities, intermediate care and residential care facilities for the elderly [RCFEs]) to receive cultural competency training for the underserved aging lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Those laws heightened awareness of LGBTQIA issues, but did nothing to stem insidious or blatant discrimination inside long-term care settings.

A recently released Bankrate survey reports Americans are saving little or nothing of their annual income and half could end up struggling in retirement.  

20% of those surveyed save 0% of their annual income while those who do save were found to not be saving enough.  Experts recommend setting aside 15% of one’s annual income, but of those surveyed– 16% report saving at the 15% level, 25% report saving 10-6%, and 21% save 5% or less.

The survey notes those 55-64 years of age, who do have retirement savings, have a median savings of $120,000, and those 65-74 years old have saved a median of $126,000.  Even when factoring in Social Security, these reserves will not last long in the absence of paychecks ($1,342 is the 2017 average monthly Social Security benefit) exposing seniors to the risks of a lower standard of living in retirement and/or an inability to afford an emergency expense. 

Aid & Attendance (A&A)

Veterans and survivors who are eligible for a VA pension and require the aid and attendance of another person, or are housebound, may be eligible for additional monetary payment. These benefits are paid in addition to monthly pension, and they are not paid without eligibility to Pension.  Aid and Attendance monies increase the pension amount, therefore people not eligible for a basic pension because their income is high, may be eligible for pension at the increased rates.  

• The United States Department of Veterans Affairs has published the 2018 Aid and Attendance Rates; rates were effective 12/1/2017.