Long-term care for Maine's veterans is on the verge of collapse. That's the message veterans' advocates told Senator Angus King Friday at a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing in Augusta.
King opened the hearing citing estimates that over the next ten years Maine's veterans population will decline by 7 percent, but the number of veterans over 85 who need care will grow by more than 30 percent.
Sharon Fusco, CEO of the Maine Veterans' Home System, testified that her budget fell short by 14 million dollars last year.
"We are on a precipice of collapse and the reason for that is simple. Yes, we have workforce issues but more than that our reimbursement rates don't cover the total cost of care," Fusco said. "We simply cannot afford to continue to steal from the future of our homes to pay for our present."
Fusco said Medicaid, Medicare and VA reimbursement rates don't cover the cost of care, and she said collaborations that focus on transportation, food insecurity and social isolation of veterans are all under funded as well.
Afghanistan Veteran Mike Pooler agreed, adding that eligibility for veterans homes must be expanded to bring in more revenue.
"There needs to be a way to have National Guardsmen and Reservists not on active duty or deployed be eligible for access to state veterans homes. Absent many more wars this is only way for the MVH system to remain viable," Pooler said.
King was joined by Scotte Hartronft of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs who testified that the VA is working on a multi-year expansion of home care that would double the number of VA sites in the country.
King called on Hartronft to expedite the VA's months-long hiring process so shortfalls in staff can be remedied more quickly. King is a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
