Aging/Older Adults

While faced with new challenges, reduced budgets, and growing populations requiring more services, states are stronger than ever, and the work they do is more effective than ever in reaching individuals and addressing their needs. The National Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Conference 2018 highlights these achievements, allowing states to share best practices, present unique partnerships, and recognize the work of their peers.

This report discusses the results of a poll investigating how AAAs measure the value of their services. The poll also examined if AAAs' value proposition development has led to successful partnerships. In addition to highlighting the findings of the poll, this report also reviews key informant interviews from AAAs who have successfully used value measurement to strengthen partnerships.

This report highlights elder justice legislation from February to August 2018. The legislation referenced in the report was elicited using NCEA's Listserv as well as independent websites. This particular edition compiles updates from twenty-one states and also includes policy news at the national level.

This study reviews literature on fall risk factors and prevention strategies. It uses peer-reviewed research from between 1994 and 2017 to estimate the number of medically treated falls that could be prevented and the direct medical costs that could be adverted. The estimates were created by looking specifically at evidence-based fall interventions in clinical settings.

AARP's Public Policy Institute (PPI) publishes a monthly update on employment numbers for people ages 55 and over. This report draws from monthly data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. AARP PPI has recently released its July 2018 version of the digest. Despite the overall labor force participation rate declining, the rate for people ages 55 and older increased slightly to 40.2 percent. The unemployment rate for people ages 55+ remained at 3.1 percent for the third consecutive month.

Medicaid value-based payment (VBP) models tie payment to outcomes including quality of care, health status, and costs. This guide outlines considerations for adopting value-based payment (VBP) to promote high-quality MLTSS programs. It combines insights from five states - Minnesota, New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia - with input from national health policy experts.

This report presents information on managed care’s enrollment and spending. It explores the growth of enrollment in Medicaid Managed Care in the United States and the contributing factors. It also analyzes the fact that funding does not directly parallel enrollment, as the share of total Medicaid spending that went to managed care only grew from 15 percent to 37 percent between 1999 and 2012, despite enrollment growing from 63 percent to 89 percent during that same time period.

This survey gathered insights from workers 45+ and asked questions regarding their experiences in the workplace, especially regarding age discrimination. Sixty-one percent of older workers report that they’ve seen or experienced age discrimination in the workplace. Among those concerned about losing their job in the next year, one-third list age discrimination as a reason.

This report examines the role of formal long-term services and supports (LTSS) in Medicaid. The report focuses on how sociodemographic changes will impact the demand for LTSS in the future, and as a result, Medicaid use and expenditures.

This study asked adults age 50-80 about their use of opioids for pain management, perceptions of opioid policies, and the education they received about the drugs and their disposal. More than one in four older adults (29%) said they filled a prescription for an opioid pain medication for themselves within the past two years. Nearly half had leftover opioid medication, raising important concerns about misuse or abuse and highlighting the importance of communication with healthcare professionals.