Long-Term Care

With the recent enactment of the Deficit Reduction Act, states who are interested in increasing their home and community based programs have three new opportunities. The DRA has many components but the three provisions that increase flexibility over benefits and cost sharing include the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) option (section 6086-page 118), a Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration project (section 6071-page 99)and a Cash and Counseling option (section 6087-page 124).

This issue brief summarizes the Medicaid provisions of the budget reconciliation law signed in February 2006 and discusses the implications of the proposed changes. The changes would net reductions of $4.8 billion over the next five years and $26.1 billion over the next ten years from current Medicaid spending. Read about the many policy changes in the DRA, which both reduces federal and state Medicaid spending and also changes health care access and coverage for low-income beneficiaries.

Can agency consolidation bring about consistent policymaking and focus long term care services on persons with disabilities rather than on program providers? This AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Paper provides readers with an examination of a consolidated agency approach, by studying agency structure, reviewing the arguments for consolidation, and the barriers to achieving it. It also reviews several states accomplishing consolidation and a checklist of steps towards such a model.

Studio AID (for Adaptable and Inclusive Design) operates within the University of Arkansas School of Agriculture and provides numerous resources for developing more affordable, adaptable, inclusive, and universal design practices and solutions. Review the resources and research about inclusive design in housing.

Informal caregiving has long been the most common source of long-term care for older persons with disability however; a number of factors such as demographic trends may reduce the supply of traditional family caregivers and changes in the LTC delivery system indicate the need to track the changes. This paper examines key trends in family caregiving patterns. The findings should help to inform public policy debates and the data provides evidence of the need to provide adequate long-term services.

The Nursing Home Transition Summit, convened by Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, was held September 28 through September 30, 2005. It brought together 39 participants from ten states, in addition to representatives from CMS, to discuss how to sustain nursing home transition programs. The New Jersey Community Choice Counseling program served as the summit centerpiece, with presentations by program staff and visits to several sites in the Central New Jersey area.

The report describes programs in various states whose primary purpose is nursing facility diversion or transition and identifies promising practices that have helped states divert or transition individuals from nursing facilities. Drawing upon those experiences, the report provides a variety of recommendations for states to consider in addressing the barriers and strengthening efforts to divert and transition individuals from nursing facilities.

This State Policy in Practice brief describes Indiana’s efforts to develop a new, comprehensive program that helps people in Indiana (the Hoosiers) avoid nursing home placement if possible and desirable. It also describes pilot programs to transition those who choose to enter a nursing home, but then want to return to their homes. It is intended to help state policy and program leaders, advocates, and providers learn from their peers and colleagues across the states.

The National Council on Disability is calling on administration to reform long-term services and supports systems to better serve people with disabilities and the elderly. In this new report, the NCD looks at current state activities, identifies the problems with our currently fragmented federal system and offers recommendations on future needs.

Held in December 2005, this decennial event was designed to develop recommendations for additional research and action in the field of aging. The 2005 conference occurs as the first wave of the baby boom generation prepares for retirement, creating an opportunity to reassess aging in America and focus on the lives of older Americans. Review the presentations from selected sessions; topics include policy issues, long term care, civil and social engagement, and the workplace of the future.