Advocates

NIA has launched a new website designed to educate and support people whose lives are touched by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Alzheimers.gov is the federal government's portal to information and resources on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, including Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal disorders, and vascular dementia. It's goal is to connect people with Alzheimer’s, caregivers and advocates to federal resources that educate and support their needs.

The Social Security Advisory Board has released its annual report summarizing their work during fiscal year 2020 and detailing information regarding its accomplishments, including Board publications and commissioned work.

This Mathematica article summarizes some of their key findings from a recent study utilizing NCI-AD data. The study contributes important information to the field of managed care long-term services and supports (MLTSS) and quality outcomes. One finding shares “MLTSS enrollees rated their experience of care and quality of life more favorably than fee-for-service beneficiaries.”

On March 18, 2021 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Medicaid Informational Bulletin with the updated 2021 Federal Poverty Level (FPL) Standards. The bulletin also includes the 2021 Dual Eligible Standards chart that displays the new standards for the Medicare Savings Program categories.

This brief takes a look at multiple measures beyond waiver waiting lists to evaluate state choices about optional Medicaid eligibility pathways, spending, and services for seniors and people with disabilities as of 2018. The analysis draws on KFF resources, including 50-state surveys of Medicaid financial eligibility pathways for seniors and people with disabilities, HCBS waiver programs, and state plan benefits offered, as well as state Medicaid LTSS expenditures reported by Mathematica.

On February 28, 2021, a 40-year-old individual with a physical disability from Adams County was referred to IRIS (Include, Respect, I Self-Direct), Wisconsin’s self-directed long-term care program. This individual was the last person waiting to join one of Wisconsin’s long-term care programs that provide home and community-based services to eligible adults who are elderly or have physical or intellectual disabilities.

The Center for Health Care Strategies, in partnership with the California Health Care Foundation as well as In-Sight Associates, Health Management Associates, and Schoen Consulting, is developing a series of resource packages that share best practices for supporting the integration of community health workers and promotores into programs run by Medicaid managed care plans for members of Medi-Cal. Download the resource to learn more.

On February 25. 2021, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced the Continued Funding for Senior Services During COVID-19 Act to ensure continued federal support for our Nation’s seniors. This legislation would allocate more than $1.5 billion to the aging network to continue providing essential services, such as meal delivery, vaccine outreach and programming and caregiver support.

The Center on Aging and Trauma of The Jewish Federations of North America’s Holocaust Survivor Initiative, invites organizations to participate in a national survey on PCTI Care. This ACL grantee is working to build the capacity of aging service providers to provide PCTI care to older adults with a history of trauma as well as their family caregivers. They are conducting this survey to collect information on the current capacity of organizations to provide this type of care.

The purpose of this study is to examine the physical and mental well-being of community-dwelling older adults and their informal or unpaid caregivers during public health emergencies, such as COVID-19. This project also aims to identify public health interventions and strategies available to support older adults and caregivers during public health emergencies.