Hundreds of seniors at risk with closure of Maine nonprofit

FARMINGDALE, Maine (AP) - Nearly 600 patients are at risk of losing their in-home care when a Maine nonprofit closes in April.

Home Care for Maine, a Farmingdale-based nonprofit that provides in-home care to elderly people in the state, will be closing on April 30, the Kennebec Journal reported Monday.

The nonprofit’s attorney Newell Augur told the Journal that the nonprofit has been hurt by low reimbursement rates for MaineCare, which cause the company to lose 40 to 50 cents for every hour of service it provides. The organization currently employs 365 people and sees 582 patients.

Augur also pointed to the rising minimum wage as compounding the organization’s fiscal issues. The expansion of background checks and fingerprinting also added to the group’s costs.

The attorney also said that care providers will no longer be reimbursed through MaineCare for traveling between patients homes. The Department of Health and Human Services has issued a request for proposals for a reevaluation of the reimbursement rates, but Augur worries that action may not come fast enough.

Augur called the company’s closure a crisis for its patients, who come from each of the state’s 16 counties. He said it might be difficult to find agencies to take on those clients, especially in more rural areas of the state.

The company is working to find new jobs for its hundreds of employees.

“We’re working very hard so that our employees all land on their feet,” Augur said. “Given the workforce shortage, our hope … is that our workers are going to be able to find work if they want it.”