Nantucket Council on Aging cancels July meeting, hears Medicaid funding warning

NANTUCKET — June 3, 2026 — Nantucket Council on Aging cancels July meeting and hears warning of impending Medicaid cuts to elder home care. Sherry Hunt, director of Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands — the federally designated Area Agency on Aging serving Nantucket, Barnstable, and Dukes Counties since 1972 — told the board that cuts to Medicaid and MassHealth programs "could cost us a lot of money in the next year," threatening the CHOICES and expanded home care tiers that serve the island's lowest-income seniors at no cost to them. Hunt noted Nantucket still serves Meals on Wheels five days a week while the Cape has been reduced to four, and that a new Medicare program called GUIDE now covers up to $2,500 per year in dementia-patient respite care. Council staff and Hunt flagged a persistent breakdown in hospital discharge coordination, with one staff member stating it is "not appropriate" for Nantucket Cottage Hospital to identify at-risk patients and then leave home-visiting agencies to discover and report the problems upon first entry. The board voted five to zero to cancel its July meeting, with the next session set for August.