Earlier this year, the Department of Health and Senior Services hired Indiana-based Syncare to assess people's home-care needs. It's a way to keep people out of nursing homes, where the costs are much higher.
“We just go in and assist them with those tasks that they cannot do for themselves. Not to take over their lives; not to do everything, but assist them with the things they need,” said Diane Noah, of Home Care of Mid-Missouri.
The Syncare contract dissolved in August after residents complained of long delays in getting service.
“From the outset, there were alarms being sent about problems that arose right away with the contract,” Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder said. “And the administration ignored those problems.”
The Health Department was forced to hire its own temporary workers to do the assessments, but Kinder says it is still taking way too long and some home-care clients with critical needs face relocation to nursing homes.
So he wants the administration to allow the home care providers themselves to do the assessments, as they did before lawmakers raised concerns about conflict of interest.
“They said, 'we're in these people's homes every week. We can do these in two weeks. We can get these assessments done,” Rep. Thomas Long (R ), Springfield, said.
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