Drop in ALF Medicaid Population Despite Overall Growth

VHCA (5/2/2008)

The federal government recently released the final version of Residential Care and Assisted Living Compendium: 2007, which reveals that while the assisted living profession continued to grow from 2004 - 2007, Medicaid coverage in assisted living declined over that period.  In 2007, states reported 974,585 units/beds in 38,373 licensed residential care facilities - up from 935,364 units/beds and 36,218 in 2004.  Over the same period, the reported number of Medicaid beneficiaries living in residential care settings dropped from 121,000 to 115,000, with most of the decline occurring in Medicaid state plan programs in Michigan and Florida.

Other highlights of the Department of Health & Human Services report include that 45 states have requirements for residential care facilities serving residents with Alzheimer's disease; 29 states and the District of Columbia include provisions concerning assisted living concepts such as privacy, autonomy, and decision making in their regulations or Medicaid standards; and 42 states use Medicaid to cover services in assisted living settings.