ILLINOIS (WAND) – A new living situation will be possible for Medicaid members with dementia as part of an expanding program in Illinois.
An announcement from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services said an expansion of 40 locations in the state will allow close to 1,600 people with dementia and Medicaid coverage to take part in the Supportive Living Program (SLP). The SLP program is meant to be an alternative to nursing home care that promotes privacy and dignity, along with independence and community involvement, while still providing people with needed care.
A person taking part in the SLP program gets their own apartment and will be able to set up their own schedule, along with what services they receive. Those services involve meals, housekeeping, laundry, medication management, help with daily living activities, social and health promotion activities, emergency call systems, well-being checks and routing nursing assessments, a press release said.
It’s affordable, the release said, because the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approve a Home and Community Based Services waiver SLP operates through, allowing Medicaid funds to cover assisted living for people who could otherwise go to a nursing home.
“The dementia settings have seen longer than expected lengths of stay by individual residents and waiting lists for new admissions, which demonstrates their success to us,” Eagleson said. “They also offer a more cost-effective alternative, which means potentially more resources for Medicaid to offer our members.”
In central Illinois, apartments will be available in the counties of Christian, Coles, Iroquois, Macon, Macoupin, McLean, Morgan and Vermilion. They’re expected to start becoming available in the coming three years, with a lot of them available in 2020. Others will be phased in sooner or later than that time.
SLP first became available in 1996. As of August 2019, it has 152 providers and over 12,700 apartments, with five sites certified for dementia care.
“With these settings, those facing a truly difficult challenge can get the right kind of care and protection to help them lead safe and healthy lives,” said HFS Director Theresa Eagleson. “These settings also help to bring vital peace of mind to their loved ones.”
More information about the program is available online here.
