For thousands of frail, older Massachusetts residents, home care visits offer a lifeline — and a way to remain in their houses even amid illness and disability.

But that lifeline could be jeopardized by state budget cuts, according to elder advocates who say that as many as 200 residents a month could be added to waiting lists for services from Sept. 1 through June.

They are urging legislators to act quickly, saying the state received federal money for elder home care and that money is just sitting in a trust fund.

“Some of these people won’t be able to get any meal assistance, and what are they supposed to do, eat saltines?’’ said Al Norman, executive director of Mass Home Care, a network of nonprofit agencies focused on home-based care.

The state started a waiting list Sept. 1 for residents who are applying for help with meal preparation because of “significant growth over the past several years and budget restraints in a tough fiscal year,’’ according to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

Elders with more extensive needs, such as needing help with bathing and grocery shopping, will still receive those services, the agency said. Those on the waiting list will be monitored monthly in case their health needs change and become more urgent, the agency said.

Seniors on the waiting list may have memory problems that make it dangerous for them to be cooking, for fear they would forget to turn off the stove, advocates said. The waiting list will probably also include people who have trouble standing or who have vision problems.

The waiting list is expected to save the state $2.7 million through June. It marks the third time since 2009 the state has resorted to home care waiting lists.

In finalizing this year’s state budget, lawmakers reduced the home care program by $3.5 million.

Elder advocates said the Baker administration could bridge that shortfall with money from the Community First Trust Fund, a pool of federal money given to states to help patients remain at home, instead of being institutionalized.

But the Baker administration rejected that idea.

“The Community First Trust Fund provided a temporary funding source that will come to an end [next September], requiring a sustainable approach to assisting elders in need of meal preparation services with alternatives,’’ a spokeswoman for the administration said in a statement.

The statement from the Baker administration did not address why it opted not to direct money to the waiting list from the trust fund before the cash ran out in September.

Top legislators said they are searching for a solution.

“The most cost-effective and dignified way to care for our seniors is to provide the support services that allow them to stay in their homes,’’ Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg said in a statement. “Heading down a path of reinstating the waiting list is penny wise and pound foolish. It is my hope that we can direct additional resources toward the pending wait list to eliminate the need for it.’’

House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo’s office said in a statement that DeLeo is “working with the House Ways and Means Committee’’ on the issue.

Elder advocates said alternatives suggested by the Baker administration, such as the federally funded Meals on Wheels program, are already stretched thin. That program delivers prepared meals to homebound seniors but does not provide the intensive monitoring by case managers that comes with home care services.

“A case manager is trained in geriatric care and trained in other areas, so if an elder is not paying their bills and got involved in a credit card scam, or might be having problems with a landlord, or subject to financial exploitation from a family member, they could be referred to protective services,’’ said Dale Mitchell, executive director of Ethos, a Boston nonprofit organization that provides home-based services to seniors and disabled residents.

Lisa Gurgone, executive director of the Home Care Aide Council, a nonprofit association of home care companies, said families that need help for an elder tend to stop calling when they hear about waiting lists, even though their family member might qualify for aid.

“It’s easier [for an elder] to fall through the cracks if they don’t get services immediately,’’ Gurgone said.

Kay Lazar can be reached at kay.lazar@globe.com Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKayLazar.