Aging/Older Adults

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, is working with states to promote access to Medicaid services for people with mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) crises. Authorized under President Biden’s American Rescue Plan (ARP), states have a new option for supporting community-based mobile crisis intervention services for individuals with Medicaid. This option will help states integrate these services into their Medicaid programs, a critical component in establishing a sustainable and public health-focused support network.

Acknowledging and understanding an individual's racial and cultural identities is essential for providing person-centered supports with cultural competence. There are limited resources that directly address the intersection of culture, language, and identity with person-centered practice. The NCAPPS community has published a series of short videos that narrate how personcenteredness relates to race and culture. More videos will be released over the next several month.

On December 31, 2021, the FCC has launched the Affordable Connectivity Program, the $14.2 billion successor program to the Emergency Broadband Benefit which has helped almost 9 million afford internet access during the pandemic. This program was created by Congress in the Infrastructure and Jobs Act, and replaces the Emergency Broadband Benefit program. This investment in broadband affordability will help ensure households can afford the internet connections they need for work, school, health care and more.

On December 16, 2021 ATI Advisory released a report titled Modernizing California’s Health Insurance Counseling & Advocacy Program (HICAP): Strategy Recommendations. HICAP is the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) in the state of California, which is run by the California Department of Aging (CDA).

This report finds U.S. health care spending increased rapidly in response to the pandemic. This was primarily driven by increased federal spending, including financial assistance to providers to make up for lost revenue through the Provider Relief Fund and the Paycheck Protection Program, and increased federal public health spending including spending for vaccine development, COVID testing, and health facility preparedness. As a result, growth in federal government spending on health care has increased by 36% in 2020.

USAging and the Eldercare Locator have launched the 2021 Home for the Holidays campaign. The campaign brochure, Healthy Aging in a Pandemic World: What Older Adults and Caregivers Need to Know Now, describes the changes that families, friends and caregivers may notice among themselves and the older adults in their lives. The brochure poses questions readers should ask themselves and their loved ones as we all navigate this stage of the pandemic. It also and provides information on how older adults, caregivers and families can connect to services that agencies provide to address these changes.

ACL recently published a new report sharing new information and insights on Older Americans Act (OAA) services, reveals major OAA milestones, and key information on the impact and necessity of services for older adults. This report includes highlights from OAA Title III programs in 2018.

The Research & Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities has released a report on the effects of social isolation and loneliness have on people with disabilities living in rural and urban areas. Findings from the research report include: -People with disabilities report more than double the rates of social isolation and loneliness than people without disabilities -Rural people with disabilities report significantly fewer social connections but similar rates of loneliness compared to urban people with disabilities -Structural barriers related to employment and transportation may play a role in social isolation and loneliness disparities among people with disabilities

COVID-19 is a long-lasting and complex disaster situation involving a public health emergency and an economic crisis, with particularly acute impacts for older adults, people with disabilities, and others with certain health conditions. States are responding with changes in policies and procedures to ensure individuals have access to public benefit programs (e.g. Medicare Savings Programs, LIS/Extra Help, SNAP, and LIHEAP). ADvancing States has a new brief highlighting where states are with benefit access and enrollment since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results in the brief comes from the 2021 ADvancing States Membership Survey: COVID-19 Benefits Access and Enrollment, a follow-up to the 2020 survey.

The NIDILRR-funded Community Living Policy Center published a research brief discussing the results of a recent study of the long-term services and supports needs of people with disabilities and older adults in the US. The study explores how many people need more services than they currently receive and the connection between unmet HCBS needs and community living and health outcomes. The brief describes study findings and potential next steps for researchers and service providers to address gaps in services and supports.