Long-Term Care

America's rural communities contain the nation's highest concentrations of older people. Learn about the results of a 13-year, $13-million national program created in 1992 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and NCB Capital Impact to develop affordable assisted living models, with a focus on smaller and rural communities and low-income seniors. Learn about the strategy, program design, implementation, results and lessons learned.

There are wide variations in the incidence of disability among different groups of the population. A higher rate of disability means an increased likelihood of needing long-term services and supports. “Reducing disability among disadvantaged groups would result in more equal health outcomes and substantial savings in long-term care costs,” according to this report. Read this analysis on the trends of disability among different population groups.

To provide a look at the various provisions of the new health reform law on LTC, a distinguished panel of experts addressed questions such as: What are the provisions of the law pertaining to LTC? How will consumers, providers and states be affected? What are the major components of the CLASS Act, and what are some of the challenges for states and the federal government in implementation? Access the presentations, transcript, event summary, podcast and more.

While caregivers of veterans face similar situations as family caregivers in general, they also have unique challenges. The study reveals how providing care affects these caregivers’ lives, what organizations and information sources have been helpful to them, and what programs and services would support and assist them. Attached are links to the Full Report, Executive Summary in English and Spanish, Press Release, and a Key Findings Fact Sheet.

Growth in the cost of long-term care services in the U.S. has slowed somewhat during the past two years. As home health care gains in popularity, however, costs are beginning to rise more rapidly and are expected to increase steadily over the next few years. Read about these trends and more in this 2010 study that looked at consumer perceptions and cost trends by state and key metropolitan areas.

Family caregiving has long been the most common source of long-term care for older people with disabilities in the U.S. Explore this report looking at recent trends in the types of assistance that older people with disabilities receive and sources of payment for this assistance. It presents major findings on the growing number of older people with disabilities in the community and their care arrangements, summarized by seven trends.

Every year numerous children with severe disabilities who get in-home care through state Medicaid funds age out of the program. Some go to nursing homes, other families struggle to keep their children at home but often get overwhelmed by the care. Read this story about an Illinois family’s struggle, and other families who are suing states for continuation of home care. Links to interactive databases, e.g., milestones in LTC policies with other related information are included in the article.

A conference was held to inform potential solutions to improve the cost and quality of care across the health care continuum for older Americans. Synthesizing the conference, this report addresses many of the challenges facing individuals with chronic conditions and functional impairments, and identifies new opportunities for the integration of medical services and social supports tailored to older Americans and supported by new payment designs.

Texas is using its MFP Demonstration to address some of the obstacles to relocation and successful access to community living through interagency collaboration, development of the necessary infrastructure to support relocation, and utilization of evidence-based practices. Attached find two presentations delivered at the 2010 HCBS conference, as well as links to the program’s on-line proposal and operational protocol.

Older workers are a valuable resource for the workforce. SCSEP’s mission is to enhance employment opportunities for unemployed older Americans and promote them as a solution for businesses seeking trained, qualified, and reliable employees. They are committed to providing high-quality job training and employment assistance to participants, and have an extensive network of service providers. View their website and three related presentations delivered at the 2010 HCBS conference.