A state budget for 2019-2021 proposed by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) includes $22.2 million to increase rates paid to senior living communities and other aging services providers as well as funds to eliminate an existing backlog of assisted living community inspections.
“The budget invests in rate increases for adult foster homes, assisted living facilities, residential care facilities, memory care facilities, Providence Elder Place [Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly] and in-home agencies,” according to the budget document. “Furthermore, the budget provides additional staffing for required surveys of long-term care facilities in Oregon.”
The raise would be 10% over the budget period for the aforementioned types of senior living communities and PACE and 30% for adult foster care providers, according to The Oregonian. Facilities with a high number of Medicaid beneficiaries also would receive monthly incentive pay, the newspaper said.
The $22.2 million includes a $17.2 million increase for long-term care providers — which includes a 5% increase on July 1, 2019, and a 5% increase on July 1, 2020. There also will be a $5 million increase for adult foster home rates, which includes a 10% increase effective Jan. 1, 2020, and a 4% increase on July 1, 2020.
Early next year, the governor’s office will issue a report detailing inspection backlogs and a plan for the Oregon Department of Human Services to reduce or eliminate them during the budget period, a summary document states.
