Financial, life benefit to ramps

By Ro Foege

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As a member of the Mount Vernon/Lisbon Rotary Club, I have the opportunity to support a number of community projects. One of the contributions to the community by our Rotary Club is the construction of wheelchair ramps for people with disabilities.

Some time ago, while some Rotary members were installing a wheelchair ramp, someone drove by and yelled, “that's a waste of government money.”

Building a wheelchair ramp is actually a savings to government and to us, the taxpayers. Someone recently told me about a person who was unable to leave a nursing home because she could not be medically released to her own home because of the lack of a wheelchair ramp. She wanted to go home but was unable to live alone without an installed ramp.

We are fortunate to have an array of excellent care facilities for older Iowans and for people with disabilities when needed. But, when health and mobility allow, people and their families should have choices regarding living arrangements.

Let me explain how a wheelchair ramp saves tax dollars. In 2010, the median cost of institutional care in Iowa (nursing homes, primarily) was $3,486 per month per person. The average state share of that amount was $1,044. (The difference is usually paid privately by family or insurance.)

By contrast, the average cost of maintaining someone at home in Iowa through Home & Community Based Services (HCBS) is $659 per month per person. Of that amount, $199 is the average state share through Medicaid. That is a savings to the state of $845 per person per month!

Aging Services Inc., a local non-profit that works to help older adults stay in their homes, provides a variety of these services, including the construction of wheelchair ramps. Through a partnership with United Way and dedicated volunteers such as the Mount Vernon/Lisbon Rotary Club, ramps are provided by Aging Services at little to no cost to the older adult and their family.

Being able to stay in one's own home is cost efficient and in many situations, promotes the emotional health and well-being of the individual. In 2010, it was estimated that nearly 10,000 Iowans in nursing homes and other institutional care could be served in their own homes through HCBS.

Because having a ramp is frequently one necessary part of older people's ability to stay in their homes, the efforts of Rotary Club members, in partnership with Aging Services Inc. and United Way, are a huge benefit to the taxpayers of Iowa.

Thanks to all who support United Way and Aging Services Inc., and to the Rotary Club members and other groups who are doing this important work. Your support of these organizations improves the quality of life of our friends and neighbors, and it saves taxpayers dollars.

Ro Foege of Mount Vernon, a former state representative, co-chaired The Legislative Commission on Affordable Health Care Plans for Small Businesses and Families, 2007-2008, and was the director of the Iowa Department on Aging, 2010-2011. Comments: rofoege@me.com