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.