Proposed Consumer Driven Guidelines for Transitioning Residents from
Nursing Homes
October 2006
The mission of The Generations Project includes support, information and
education services for the Indiana Home Care Task Force. The Task Force
is a voluntary alliance of over seventy organizations founded in 1986 to
promote and advance the provision of consumer driven home and community
based services. Beginning in the spring of this year (2006) the Indiana
Division of Aging began promoting "buy outs" of certified nursing home
beds as a means to reduce the utilization of publicly funded nursing
home care.
The Generations Project and the Task Force have not endorsed nor have
they promoted Medicaid bed buy-outs. The Project and the Task Force
believe buy-outs are an unnecessary cost. Providing quality and cost
effective market place alternatives to nursing home beds is the best way
to reduce their utilization. The state also has the power to decertify
excess nursing home beds.
Nonetheless, the state is still advancing the utilization of expensive
bed buy-outs. Given that reality, Robyn Grant of United Senior Action
has crafted a model transition plan for properly moving residents out of
nursing facilities that do participate in the bed buy-out program.
Robyn, who formerly served as the state's chief long term care
ombudsman, wrote the guidelines on behalf of United Senior Action and
the Task Force.
Persons wanting to know more about nursing home bed buy-outs are
encouraged to read the July and August 2006 editions of the SEA 493
implementation series that is posted on this website.
Click here for the United Senior Action nursing home
resident transition guidelines (pdf).
