equity

On February 28, Justice in Aging released an issue brief titled “Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs): What Advocates Need to Know.” This issue brief provides advocates with basic information about D-SNPs, whom they serve, and their structure. It also identifies specific areas where advocates can engage with their states to ensure that D-SNPs work effectively to coordinate care and benefits for dually eligible individuals, including strategies in centering equity from the outset in the design of D-SNPs...

Justice in Aging has launched the first of a four-part series of issue briefs as part of their Equitable Guardianship Reform Series. This brief, “Addressing Bias in the Guardianship Process,” explores diverse aspects of the guardianship system and proposes recommendations for reform to enhance equity in aging. This brief delves into the potential areas where implicit bias may enter the guardianship process, emphasizing systemic concerns. Additionally, the brief offers recommendations for reform, advocating for efforts to eliminate bias at both systemic and individual levels within the guardianship process...

ATI Advisory, in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, recently released three deliverables as part of their project to address equity in access to long-term services and supports (LTSS). This work has benefited greatly from the contributions of key stakeholders across 30+ unique engagements, including interviews, roundtables, and focus groups. The perspectives, insights, and experiences shared by these individuals were instrumental in the development of the project's findings and helped identify challenges experienced by individuals from historically marginalized communities in accessing LTSS....

A new set of resources from the ODEP-funded Job Accommodation Network (JAN) explores disability in the context of broader diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives. These resources discuss the critical role accommodations play in fostering a disability-inclusive workplace culture and centralize information available to help employers create a more equitable and accessible work environment. They also provide real-life examples of accommodations that were made by JAN customers...

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Office of Disability Integration and Coordination (ODIC) recently celebrated International Day of Persons with Disabilities by releasing a new version of their training course titled “Including People with Disabilities in Disaster Operations.” This course replaces the previous version of IS:368 released in 2012. The course is designed for all personnel involved in disaster operations. It provides an introductory overview of information and strategies on how to include people with disabilities during mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery efforts....

On November 17, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its intent to create a Federal Advisory Committee on Long COVID. Nominations for committee membership are open until January 16, 2024, with HHS inviting individuals directly impacted by Long COVID, healthcare practitioners, researchers, and representatives from related sectors to apply. The Committee will bring perspectives from outside the Government to help inform action of the Executive Branch on Long COVID and associated conditions, with a focus on health equity. The Committee will consist of up to 20 members, including any Chair, Vice Chair, or Co-Chairs...

The National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life’s (NCALL) newly released resource, “Collaborating for Justice for Older African Americans Guide,” aims to equip professionals working with older adults to build stronger and more equitable collaborations with African American community-based and culturally-specific programs. This guide presents the insights of stakeholders from African American culturally-specific programs across the country who shared their expertise, experiences, and understanding of the cultural nuances and historical context of services and community collaboration...

The Center for Health Care Strategies, with support from the New York Health Foundation and in partnership with ATW Health Solutions, assisted seven New York-based health care organizations in piloting strategies for engaging patients of color to advance health equity. This CHCS brief outlines considerations for health care organizations in developing patient engagement strategies, including: (1) building trust with patient partners over time; (2) tailoring outreach strategies; (3) using-trauma-informed approaches; (4) engaging patients in data use; and (5) approaching engagement with humility.

The Advancing Health Equity Learning Collaborative is seeking applicants for the next cohort of the collaborative, which will include five teams comprised of Medicaid agencies, managed care organizations, and health care provider organizations or systems. The learning collaborative will help teams develop shared equity priorities, uncover the drivers of disparities in their member populations, and create payment models to support equity-focused care transformation.

Late yesterday CMS released a State Medicaid Director Letter (SMDL 22-003) providing guidance for the first-ever HCBS Quality Measure Set, the first of two planned guidance documents from CMS. The HCBS Quality Measure Set is included in the SMD, starting on page 14. The list of measures includes the NQF number (if applicable), measure steward, and data collection method, as well as information on whether each measure addresses section 1915(c) waiver assurances and/or can be used to assess access, LTSS rebalancing, and/or community integration and HCBS settings requirements.