Physical Disabilities

This report is the most comprehensive and representative assessment of self-reported outcomes among older adults and people with physical disabilities receiving publicly funded LTSS since 2018. These data were collected from 13,663 people between June 2021 and July 2022. The sample includes individuals from 15 regionally representative states and a variety of LTSS programs, including: Medicaid HCBS, Nursing Facilities, and Older Americans Act recipients.

The National Indian Council on Aging has released a toolkit dedicated to increasing awareness and knowledge of the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native persons living with disabilities. The resource is divided into sections for healthy living, education, independent living, vocational rehabilitation and employment resources, assistive technology, housing and facilities, and transportation. It includes suggestions for improving services, providing protections, and utilizing resources in local tribal communities for people with disabilities. Additional information provides overviews on federal disabilities laws, initiatives, agencies, and organizations that support work with Native individuals with disabilities and communities.

A new article from the Centers for Health Care Strategies explores a new effort to improve and align care across California Medicaid. The article explores racial disparities in access to and quality of LTSS, integration of dually eligible individuals, and more.

CMS recently released a proposed National Coverage Determination (NCD) decision that would, for the first time, expand coverage for power seat elevation equipment on certain power wheelchairs to Medicare individuals. The proposed NCD is open for public comment for 30 days and will end on March 17, 2023. If finalized, power seat elevation equipment would be covered by Medicare for individuals with a Group 3 power wheelchair, which are designed to meet the needs of people with Medicare with severe disabilities, to improve their health as they transfer from the wheelchair to other surfaces.

ADvancing States is pleased to announce the release of a new report, Advancing Equity through MLTSS Programs, co-authored with Impact 120. This report highlights the numerous ways that managed long-term services and supports (MLTSS) programs can enhance state capacity to create more equitable programs for consumers. Research and interviews identified five key themes, which are explored in detail with recommendations for future action.

This publication finds meaningful variation in disenrollment and churn across Medicaid beneficiary categories. Specifically, beneficiaries with Supplemental Security Income-related eligibility have low rates of disenrollment and high rates of reenrollments. In this research, Mathematica uses data from the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System Analytic File to examine rates of disenrollment, churn, and continuous coverage among categories of children and adult Medicaid beneficiaries whose eligibility is related to a disability.

The Center for Health Care Strategies has released a summary of its top 10 resources from 2022 that outline opportunities to strengthen the U.S health care system, particularly for Medicaid beneficiaries.

The Center for Health Care Strategies, with support from the New York Health Foundation and in partnership with ATW Health Solutions, assisted seven New York-based health care organizations in piloting strategies for engaging patients of color to advance health equity. This CHCS brief outlines considerations for health care organizations in developing patient engagement strategies, including: (1) building trust with patient partners over time; (2) tailoring outreach strategies; (3) using-trauma-informed approaches; (4) engaging patients in data use; and (5) approaching engagement with humility.

As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing commitment to increasing health data exchange and investing in interoperability, CMS issued a proposed rule that would improve patient and provider access to health information and streamline processes related to prior authorization for medical items and services. CMS proposes to modernize the health care system by requiring certain payers to implement an electronic prior authorization process, shorten the time frames for certain payers to respond to prior authorization requests, and establish policies to make the prior authorization process more efficient and transparent.

This blog post reviews considerations to strengthen provider networks in California to ensure that older adults and people with disabilities receive services that meet their needs. The post focuses on strategies for partnering with three key provider types: (1) community-based organizations; (2) institutional long-term care facilities; and (3) Medicare providers. Lessons from California can help inform other states and Medicaid managed care organizations across the country.