Long-Term Care

Several of ACA’s provisions directly impact eldercare and disability employers and direct-care staff. This is the first in a series of fact sheets describing these. Key health reform provisions related to investments in direct-care worker training and workforce development are highlighted. These include national advisory panels as well as grant opportunities for states and individual employers. These provisions will be enacted over several years.

Find a listing of caregiver services drawn from numerous sources by DHHS’ New Freedom Initiative Subcommittee on Caregiving members, speakers and other stakeholders. The list is not intended to be exhaustive or all-inclusive. It includes several programs developed to support the caregiver such as Caring From A Distance and the National Caregiver Alliance.

Listen to a recorded webinar that analyzes the recently enacted legislation, highlighting the CLASS Act, the direct care workforce, Medicare payment for post-acute care, care coordination, and quality of care in nursing homes. It was presented by Joshua M. Wiener. Ph.D., a Senior Fellow and Program Director for Aging, Disability and Long-Term Care at RTI International.

Explore how this state deals with Assessments, Level of Care, Money Follows the Person and other policies through their comprehensive online HCBS Case Management Manual. Included are detailed information on services, units and rates, and forms. Find an online index to the manual, where each link loads a separate Word document with detailed information on the item.

According to the authors, transforming Medicaid’s LTC programs is an urgent priority given states’ challenging fiscal environment. Based on this paper’s model, more than 35 percent of a state’s budget will be needed for Medicaid by 2030, of which half will be for LTC services. The brief examines Medicaid expenditures for LTC, in both institutional and community settings, and presents ideas for consideration for states to transform their programs to help address budget constraints.

What provisions in health care reform will have the most direct impact on family caregivers? This overview discusses long-term care incentives, including the CLASS Act, Community First Choice Option, the extension of Money Follows the Person demonstration programs and ADRC initiatives. The brief also addresses care quality and coordination, and changes involving health care coverage and health care workforce development.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) includes the extension of the MFP Demonstration Program for an additional 5 years. This letter provides background about the MFP Demonstration Program, explains improvements made by the ACA, details how the ACA will impact current MFP grantees, and provides preliminary information for non-participating States that may be interested in pursuing new funding.

Find a concise summary of new opportunities under the health reform law for states to balance their Medicaid long-term care delivery systems by expanding access to Medicaid HCBS programs. The brief outlines key provisions of the new law that expand HCBS benefit options, broaden financial and functional eligibility criteria, and provide additional financial incentives for states to further shift their Medicaid long-term services budgets to non-institutional settings.

An update to the Robert Wood Johnson 2002 chartbook examines the impact of chronic conditions on individuals and their caregivers, and the inadequacies of the U.S. health care system to meet their needs. According to the author, care for people with chronic conditions is not coordinated, leading to unnecessary service use. Included among his recommendations is the encouragement and support of patient self-management and family caregiving. Also attached is a presentation with supporting data.

Explore Medicaid expansion under health care reform and savings for states through Medicaid “modernization.” This report examines three broad categories of savings opportunities including the greater use of coordinated care techniques, the greater use of managed care for LTC, and the upgrading of Medicaid’s administrative processes. Find national and state-specific projections of increases in Medicaid enrollees as a result of health reform legislation and of the associated Medicaid costs.