Home and Community Based Services

This brief uses a series of interviews to explore the ways that Medicaid health plans can work to meet the nutritional needs of low-income older adults. Best practices identified include hiring staff with strong nutrition experience, using assessments to create targeted interventions, adapting effective programs from other populations, and utilizing community resources. This paper is particularly optimistic about the potential of Medicaid partnerships with community-based organizations.

This report from Truven Health Analytics describes section 1915(c) home and community based services waiver programs. Over 1.6 million people received section 1915(c) waiver services in 2014; this is a 5 percent increase from 1.5 million in 2013. Furthermore, the number of section 1915(c) waiver participants has increased by an average of 4 percent per year since 2009. Participants received services for an average of 10 months in 2014, as in previous years.

While faced with new challenges, reduced budgets, and growing populations requiring more services, states are stronger than ever, and the work they do is more effective than ever in reaching individuals and addressing their needs. The National Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Conference 2017 highlights these achievements, allowing states to share best practices, present unique partnerships, and recognize the work of their peers.

The Kaiser Commission of Medicaid and the Uninsured published an issue brief on the system design of Medicaid's current home and community-based (HCBS) programs.

This Primer is a design guide for state policy makers who are considering acuity-based resource allocation. Included in the report is: background information on different HCBS case mix approaches, the steps in the development of a case-mix resource allocation system, essential decision points to consider during the state policy development process, and best practice recommendations. This Primer is recommended as a tool for policy makers, state staff, and stakeholders.

The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) released a report on the Eldercare Locator, a national information and referral resource, funded by the Administration on Aging, that provides assistance to older adults and caregivers. The report draws on data from the locator, breaking the data into different categories.The trends in this data reflect information gathered from 271,234 contacts made with the Eldercare Locator.