Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) signed a $57.8 billion state budget for 2025 that includes several provisions aimed at helping the state’s older residents with health care, food assistance and home care provisions for aging in place. That’s according to an announcement from Healey’s office and AARP.
The budget, signed into law on July 29, supports several aging-focused programs championed by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). These include home and community care designed to support aging in place; community councils on aging to better assess the needs of older residents; funding for outreach and counseling resources for seniors with mental health needs; and funding for state health Insurance plans provide larger allocations.
The Council on Aging will receive $1.4 million in additional funding from the budget. Other projects that will increase the budget include senior nutrition ($200,000); group homes ($600,000); senior protective services ($4.5 million); senior home care ($16 million) and purchasing services ($22 million) ); and senior supportive housing ($23 million).
The budget also includes a new municipal tax lien protection program that “allows foreclosed property owners to recover any excess equity in their homes after their tax bills are settled.” According to AARP, this was It’s called prohibiting “home equity theft.”
The budget also increases support for virtual senior centers specifically targeted at older members of the state’s LGBTQ+ community; funds a dementia care coordination program; and makes regional bus fares free, although the provision does not affect bus service Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA).
“This budget delivers on our shared priorities and moves our state forward with urgency and purpose,” Healey said in a statement. “It invests in the areas where we already lead and makes them even better. We’re doing it better – including our top-ranked schools and our nation-leading child care strategy. We’re also tackling our biggest challenges by lowering costs for families and improving transportation. We do it all responsibly, within our means, and with currency. The expansion rate remains consistent.
AARP also applauded the signing of the budget and the projects it contains.
“AARP sees the budget as an opportunity to plan for the Bay State’s growing senior population,” the organization said. “In 2020, people age 60 and older made up 24% of the population. For the first time in history, there will soon be more adults 60 and older in Massachusetts than adults under 20.
Recently, Massachusetts removed a major barrier to reverse mortgage lending in the state—a ban on remote counseling sessions, aiming to limit such meetings to in-person meetings only.
The law was passed in 2010 and has been in effect since 2014, creating challenges for seniors in the state to participate in counseling services. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that the state has only eight full-time counselors, down to about five in 2021. conflict.
After years of legislative lobbying by regional professionals, National Reverse Mortgage Association (NRMLA) and Mortgage Bankers Association Dr. Healey, MBA, signed a budget bill in late April that eliminated the requirement for in-person consultations.
