Veterans News
Long-Term Care To Collapse For Maine Veterans
Long-term care for veterans in Maine is about to collapse due to a lack of funds and efforts are going on to expand home care.
Benjamin Faust/Unsplash
Long-term care for veterans in Maine is on the verge of collapse. Veterans advocates gave this message to Senator Angus King at the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing in Augusta.
It is estimated that in the next 10 years, the veteran population in Maine will decline by 7% but the number of veterans aged 85 requiring care will increase by more than 30%.
CEO of the Maine Veterans Home system Sharon Fusco testified that her budget was short by 14 Million dollars last year.
Fusco said, “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. We simply cannot afford to continue to steal from the future of our homes to pay for our present.”
Medicare, Medicaid, and VA reimbursement rates do not cover the cost of veterans’ care. Also, the collaborations focussing on transportation, social isolation, and food insecurity are well funded as well.
There was also Scotte Hartronft of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs along with the king who testified that the VA is working to expand home care which in turn would double the number of VA sites in the country.
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Bousquet Carol. “Long-term care for Maine veterans on verge of collapse”. Maine Public, January 28, 2024,
Long-term care for Maine veterans on verge of collapse | Maine Public
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