Our Mission:

Tis the season of Medicare Open Enrollment.  Between 15 October and 7 December of this year you can change your Medicare health or prescription drug plan for 2019. Any change to your Medicare plan will become effective 1 January 2019.  Among many reasons why you might want to research new plans is a change in your health status, to find a lower priced plan, or because you want to stay at home rather than moving into assisted living.

CARR has long advocated for individuals or families to consider all options before moving yourself or a family member into assisted living.  Lower-cost alternatives (in-home supportive services, housekeeping, delivered meals, adult day care, or home health services) offer you more control of your lifestyle and living environment, and can keep you in your community, among friends and social activities, longer. If you are looking for lower-cost alternatives to assisted living, or are wanting to delay relocating to an assisted living environment, it might be time for you to consider your options during this Medicare Open Enrollment period. 

Preventing elder abuse is everybody's business.  If your loved one is a resident in a facility, keeping a close watch over them, as well as other residents in the facility, is one way to ensure no one becomes a victim of abuse or neglect.  Watching for unexplained bruising, skin tears, decubitus ulcers and other tell-tale signs is key.  And remember, its not just physical abuse (slapping, hitting) but psychological abuse (yelling, screaming) that can occur.  Be mindful of changes in mood or responsiveness. 

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 would have expanded 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.