For senior care advocates in Illinois, a state funding increase is a reason for optimism after a prolonged period of government disinvestment that was marked by a crippling two-year state budget impasse which continues to impact social service providers. But advocates for nursing homes and home-based senior care agree there is a long way to go to ensure long-term sustainability for Medicaid-funded senior care programs, especially as the baby boomer generation continues to age into long-term care systems.