Columbus, Ohio – Governor Ted Strickland today issued a directive calling for the Ohio Department of Aging to expand access to PASSPORT services for the 1,100 of Ohio’s seniors currently on the waiting list.
“Today’s action will allow us to help more than one thousand seniors find quality care while remaining in their homes,” Strickland said. “Not only is there a great public benefit to allowing older Ohioans more options, but it will add significantly to their quality of life.”
Strickland praised the bipartisan work being done to address this issue.
“I’m grateful for the work Senator John Carey and Republican and Democratic legislators have done on this important issue,” Strickland said.
PASSPORT (Pre-Admission Screening System Providing Options and Resources Today) is a Medicaid waiver program run through the Ohio Department of Aging that provides medical care to qualifying seniors in home and community settings.
PASSPORT started a waiting list in August 2005 because not enough money was made available to provide its services to all those who were eligible. At this time, the Department of Aging instituted a managed enrollment policy that capped the number of slots available on a monthly basis. At the end of January 2007, 1,100 Ohioans were on the PASSPORT waiting list.
”I strongly support Governor Strickland’s move to eliminate the waiting list for PASSPORT,” state Sen. John Carey said. “It is the right thing to do for seniors, and it is an effective use of taxpayer dollars.”
In today’s directive, additional Medicaid funds have been made available to cover all individuals on the waiting list through June 30, 2007.
Eligible PASSPORT participants are 60 or older, financially eligible for Medicaid institutional care, frail enough to require a nursing home level of care and able to remain safely at home with the consent of their physician.
Applicants go through a screening to determine eligibility for PASSPORT. If determined eligible, caseworkers work with the consumers to develop and monitor the in-home services that will be provided.