Aging/Older Adults

This online resource archives a national signature event. The Conference provides excellent workshops focused on the most promising opportunities and pressing issues, specifically care transition. Review past presentations, general sessions and hot topic videos.

Review this policy brief which summarizes 15 states' preliminary proposals to better coordinate care for people who are in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The design contracts are an outgrowth of new efforts under the health reform law to develop service delivery and payment models that integrate care for the nation’s nearly 9 million "dual eligibles," whose medical needs and health care costs typically exceed those of other Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

Adult day services (ADS) centers are a key provider of long-term care services. As well as providing direct service, they benefit family caregivers by enabling them to remain in the workforce or receive needed respite. Data was collected and analyzed from a representative sample of centers, focusing on the characteristics of services, profile of participants, and the range of services offered. The study provides a picture of current adult day services and offers a look to the future.

A national survey of over 10,000 local governments follows up on a 2005 survey of aging communities across the nation. This report highlights 11 distinct transportation options important to older adults in local communities and underscores the importance of further outreach efforts to involve older adults in the planning process as only 30% of the communities surveyed had the direct involvement of older adults.

This resource guide highlights the importance of mobility options for American Indian elders and support the efforts of Title VI aging services and Tribal transit programs to provide transportation to elders living on reservations and Indian lands. Order the resource in hard copy from the NCST library or download the electronic version.

By 2015, more than 15.5 million Americans 65 and older will live in communities where public transportation service is poor or non-existent. That number is expected to continue to grow rapidly as the baby boom generation “ages in place” in suburbs and exurbs with few mobility options for those who do not drive. This report ranks metro areas by the percentage of seniors with poor access to public transportation, now and in the coming years, and presents other data on aging and transportation.

Health care reform offers opportunities for cash-strapped Medicaid programs to save money and get extra federal dollars. Amid the budget shortfalls that most states are experiencing, state policymakers should carefully consider the new opportunities presented by health care reform and direct their resources to those that will both improve health outcomes and services and realize cost savings or efficiencies.

Looking to boost your healthy aging program? Find free tips on business planning, creating partnerships, using data to tell your story, tapping opportunities in Medicaid and health reform, and increasing consumer demand from our Center for Healthy Aging. The Center has posted presentations and resources from a recent grantee meeting for free download.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthy Aging Program has released an updated version of its annual Aging At A Glance report. It addresses not only implications of an aging society, and opportunities for improving older adult health, but also how CDC and its partners are addressing these issues. Review the statics and success stories.

One in six seniors living alone faces physical, cultural or geographical barriers that prevent them from receiving benefits & services that can improve their economic security, and ability to live healthy, independent lives. This brief describes the ways in which social and geographical isolation pose barriers to benefits access among older adults. By examining the main characteristics of the isolated, this paper identifies new opportunities to improve and expand outreach and enrollment efforts.