Coalition for Senior Housing

• The population of individuals in Massachusetts, age 65+, will increase by 37% between year 2000 and 2020 from 860,162 to 1,178,852 individuals (Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs).

• Massachusetts has more than 146,200 elders covered by Medicaid. On average, each of the elders consumes more than $14,052 per year. These dollars are spent on long-term care services (Kaiser Family, 2004).

• Currently, one out of every five people age of 65+ in our state live beneath the poverty line and an estimated 50% of those individuals are homeless (HEARTH).

2010 Coalition Priorities:

Group Adult Foster Care program - Increase the current rate of reimbursement and create a mechanism by which the rate will be evaluated and adjusted at regular intervals. The GAFC program provides elders and non-elders with assistance including but not limited to bathing, dressing, shopping and laundry. Recipients must live in an assisted living residence or publicly subsidized housing complex and meet both income and clinical eligibility criteria. The care provided through this program allows elders of limited means to remain a part of the community and avoid pre-mature institutionalization.

Public Housing Operating Subsidy and Capital Improvements - We support the Governor's request for $59.9 million for operating subsidy in the FY 2008 state budget and incremental increases over each of the next two fiscal years to reach parity with the federal standards for funding public housing operations. Currently, the state provides 32,000 units of state-funded public housing for seniors.

Increase the state bond cap from $52 million to $100 million so that affordable units are revitalized and preserved. The state bond cap has been frozen for four years and housing authority reserves have either been exhausted entirely or depleted to dangerously low levels as the cost of maintenance and repair rises.

Eliminate bias against elder housing in state discretionary programs - The Coalition for Senior Housing asks that the Secretary and Undersecretary of Housing and Community Development carry out a systematic review of all discretionary state housing programs-including those at the quasi-public agencies-to assure that bias against elderly housing is eliminated and that elder housing/assisted living owners and developers have the opportunity to apply for and receive all types of funds available with no artificial funding caps imposed.

Require state agencies to conduct an analysis of cost to comply with proposed new regulations – Require state agencies to conduct and disclose the results of an analysis of all incremental costs associated with compliance with proposed regulatory/rule changes so that providers and consumers alike may understand the full implications of the proposed changes.

Supportive Housing and Housing Placement Specialists - Increase the number of supportive housing sites (affordable housing plus services) by eight across the Commonwealth. Supportive housing provides services to elders among high density elderly populations such as apartment buildings-basically creating affordable assisted living. The addition of 8 sites would cost an estimated $695,000.

“Expiring Use” and the Loss of Affordable Units –The Coalition plans to work with public and private entities to actively pursue a resolution to the issues related to “expiring use,” which includes an exploration of the funding necessary to preserve as many affordable units as possible. Approximately 85,000 affordable rental units were constructed between the mid 1960’s through the mid 1980’s in Massachusetts, the vast majority of which house elders and people with disabilities. Approximately 20,000 of these units face the expiration of contracts or mortgages over the next five years. As the expiration dates for these properties have approached, grave concerns have arisen that many owners will decide to allow the contract to expire and convert their properties to market rate rentals or condominiums.