Aging/Older Adults

Mathematica Policy Research published a report examining the relationship between the primary impairments of Social Security disability beneficiaries and the employment and earning experiences of the beneficiaries. The report can inform policymakers on innovative ways to assist beneficiaries in becoming self-sufficient and gaining employment. The researchers found considerable differences in employment and earning across the primary impairments studied.

The UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform and Modernization released a new brief. Many Americans do not have health insurance coverage, and Medicaid enrollment can cover the gap of the uninsured, if successful practices are used. This brief highlights four approaches used in Kentucky and Arkansas to increase enrollment for low-income residents to cut their uninsured populations in half. The solutions in this brief can inform other states on efforts to decrease the number of uninsured people.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report and the white paper commissioned by the National Interprofessional Initiative on Oral Health both examine the wide disparities in oral health due to lack of access. The U.S. fails to provide proper access for ongoing and preventative oral health care needs. A push must be made to integrate dental care as a component of primary care. There is also a focus on the impact and burden of oral diseases and their effect on quality of life.

The second annual report to Congress examines the services utilized by Medicaid's behavioral health beneficiaries. The findings indicate that low-income children have high levels of unmet need in the mental health care arena. Additionally, the review of Medicaid's dental coverage found considerable variation between states, particularly for services provided to adults. The report findings illustrate the potential directions for change to improve care for beneficiaries.

A report published by the Government Accountability Office found that almost 4 million seniors are faced with food insecurity. Findings showed that 1 in 5 seniors did not know where their next meal would come from and were in need of transportation services. However, some improvement was seen with home-based care. This report indicates that the funding for the Older Americans Act program is not sufficient for the increasing population.

Adult day services (ADS)--a non-residential service provided outside an individual's home for less than a full day--provides direct care to older adults and younger adults with physical disabilities. This report provides information about each state's approach to regulating this key community service. The report details different models, forms of regulation, and funding sources used by states to run ADS programs.

This primer describes long-term services and supports (LTSS) delivery and financing in the U.S. and highlights covered services and supports, types of care providers and care settings, beneficiary subpopulations, costs and financing models, quality improvement efforts, and recent LTSS reform initiatives.

This report addresses: 1) federal programs that fund HCBS and supports for older adults, in particular in-home and nutrition services, affordable housing, and transportation; 2) how HCBS and supports are planned and delivered in selected localities; and 3) agencies’ efforts to promote a coordinated federal system of HCBS for older adults.

For Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income recipients who are not capable of managing their own benefit payments, the Social Security Administration (SSA) pays benefits to a representative payee. The authors estimate that the demand for representative payees will increase from 2.94 million beneficiaries in 2013 to 3.27 million by 2025 and to 3.56 million by 2035.

Research from the AARP Public Policy Institute/Urban Institute shows the uninsured rates for 50- to 64- year-olds dropped 31% between December 2013 and December 2014. In states that expanded their Medicaid programs, the drops were greater. The analysis uses preliminary data from the second open enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act.