While federal law protects seniors on Medicaid who are living in nursing homes, it doesn’t protect seniors in assisted living facilities. That’s led to some of these seniors being evicted from their living spaces, and facilities rejecting new tenants who have Medicaid as their method of payment. Most of the seniors who are evicted don’t have other good options for a place to live, putting them at risk of homelessness.

Around 4.4 million people in the US have Medicaid that provides long-term care. Representatives from assisted living, though, say that Medicaid doesn’t actually provide enough money to pay for the care people are getting in these facilities. In other words, by taking a person on Medicaid into an assisted living facility, that facility will actually lose money.

The family members of the seniors being evicted are angry and frustrated that their loved ones are being treated this way. They say that it’s heartless and cruel, and many of these residents are into their 80s and 90s. With costs rising and inflation becoming more serious, it’s true that facilities have to monitor their income and expenses. But at what cost to the people who need them?

Seniors who have some savings are draining their accounts to pay for their care, but many seniors don’t have any kind of nest egg they can access. Instead, they’re left looking for some place to go. If they qualify for a nursing home that could be an option, but many nursing homes are already at capacity.

For seniors who don’t have family willing to help them, or simply don’t have family at all, the prospect of being homeless is a real one. That’s a terrifying position for someone who’s already elderly and in need of medical care and support with daily life activities. They may have nowhere to go, and they may not know how to get additional resources to help them.

While it’s understandable that facilities have to make a profit to continue to operate, it’s also clear that something must be done to protect the elderly and vulnerable from ending up on the streets.

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