Facts About Long Term Care in Tennessee
- The state knows of 6,458 individuals, in Tennessee, who have expressed they want out of the nursing home.
- This Administration continues its policies of isolationism and segregation by spending $149 for nursing home care per $1 for home and community based services.
- Tennessee has the highest nursing home verses community services spending ratio in the nation at $149 to $1
- In comparison the state with the next highest difference in nursing home spending vs. home and community based services is North Dakota at only $34.6 to $1
- Tennessee spends $898 million a year in nursing home expenditures
- Tennessee only spends $6 million for home and community based services
What We Want
Money Follows the Person
 Money Follows the Person is a budget issue that allows the individual living in the nursing home to move out and receive services where and how they choose and the money Medicaid was paying for nursing home care would be used by the individual to pay for services where they choose.
With Money Follows the Person We Want Assurances That:
Close the Front Door
Before anyone enters a nursing home make sure someone who believes in community based services offers that individual community based services and explains their options under Money Follows the Person.
A system that is needs based
Range and character of services are based on the needs of the individual not based on the type of disability or age range. People with disabilities and people who are aging all have vastly different needs. Therefore their services should be individualized not based on a model or label.
Consumer controlled
Consumer chooses how the money is spent for services. Some people are fully comfortable in hiring their own assistant’s, others may want to use an agency. It must be up to the individual to choose where and how those services are received.
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