A Medicaid program that aims to give elderly and disabled people care in their homes or assisted living facilities has seen its per-person costs decrease, leading to some health care groups pushing for an expansion of the program.

The state’s Family Care program, which gives care to elderly and disabled persons in settings other than nursing homes, saw its average cost of caring per person decrease by 3.7 percent to a 2010 monthly cost of $2,887 per person, according to the Department of Health Services. As it currently only operates in 57 of the state’s 72 counties, advocates pushed for expanding the program in the 15 remaining counties.

Ed Kohl, family care officer for Community Care, a Milwaukee-based managed care organization, called it an “interesting disparity,” as people in those counties still pay for the taxes that fund the program.

“Based on where you live, you might not receive care, and the people in those counties are paying just as much,” Kohl said.

Kohl said potential beneficiaries in the 15 counties are often cared for under another Medicaid program that capped its enrollment. That has led to a wait list among many in those counties, he said.

In July 2011, Gov. Scott Walker and a Republican-controlled Legislature temporarily capped enrollment of new patients for Family Care. The next year, as the program’s spending was now under control, they lifted the restriction but kept a ban that restricted the program’s expansion to those 15 counties.

Michael Blumenfeld, spokesperson for Wisconsin Family Care Association, said in order for the expansion to happen, the Legislature would have to be convinced the expansion would not raise the state’s overall expenditures.

Blumenfeld said the status quo currently pushes more people to nursing homes, rather than less costly alternatives. Switching that model, he said, would decrease costs.

“Right now, you might well have people in nursing home beds because that’s an entitlement and more affordable care is not,” Blumenfeld said.

According to a January Legislative Fiscal Bureau report, the first two years of the expansion would likely save money, as home and assisted living care is less costly than nursing homes. But over time, the report said, the expansion could raise the state’s expenditures significantly.

According to DHS, the state’s aging population and increased health care costs overall could lead to increasing program costs.

“It’s a delicate balance,” Kohl said. “Each individual is cheaper to treat through Family Care, but it’s a big debate what will happen financially in the long run if we start covering that waiting list.”