Meals on Wheels hits a roadblock

These deliveries are part of “Meals on Wheels,” a state-funded Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) program designed to provide home-delivered meals to elderly and disabled citizens in the county.

But as the national and state economies worsen, and the state shifts more burdens to the local level, the impact is being felt here at home as well, as senior center director Joe Dudley can attest.

Right now, there are 13 people on the waiting list to receive those meals, but none of them can be added, though Dudley says they’ve lost five clients in just the past few weeks. Until recently, when someone came off the program for whatever reason — a move out of the area, transfer to nursing home, death, etc. — a new client could be evaluated and added to the list, but as of Jan. 1, that’s no longer the case.

The senior center was recently informed that the state will continue to cover costs for those in the Meals on Wheels program, but they will not allow people on the waiting list to come into it.

“The only way I can add them right now is through ‘private pay,’” Dudley said, which means each new client would need to pay a fee of $4 per day for the meals.

While $4 might not be a lot for some, that amount is still too much for those trying to survive on fixed incomes. Dudley said that’s roughly a “break-even” price on what the meals cost the program. If food prices continue to go up, that price could also have to be adjusted, especially if the economic situation does not improve.

And the restricted services don’t just apply to homebound services, Dudley said. Approximately 47 folks are enrolled in the “congregate meal” lunch program, meaning they eat at the center each day. Those enrolled as of Dec. 31, 2008, can continue to eat at the center on a “volunteer pay” basis, meaning that they make a donation if they can, but any new members of the center will have to pay the $4 fee.

“Putting $4 in the (donation) box, that’s a hard thing for many here to do,” Dudley said.

And Dudley fears that the “volunteer pay” status might change for current senior center members if things continue to tighten.

Dudley, like other senior centers in the state, received a memo on the cutbacks in mid-December.

The only ones not affected are those on the federal CCSP (Community Care Service Program). New clients can still be accepted who qualify for this program. But senior center secretary Doris Tolbert noted that criteria to qualify for CCSP is pretty strict.

Madison County allocates $82,000 to the meals program each year, with the state matching those funds, Dudley said. When the funds run short, the county must pick up the tab.

“If it gets to the point where every senior center in the state can’t take on anyone else for three or four months, we’re going to be in a mess,” Dudley said.

Dudley said a few years back such belt-tightening might not have hit as hard, since family, community members, churches and others would have stepped up to the plate to make up the difference.

“Someone could fill in the gap and take a meal, provide for their family members in need, but today, you have so many people out of work who can’t take care of themselves,” he said.