Justice in Aging

Justice in Aging has released an issue brief intended to equip state oral health, aging, and disability advocates with education and advocacy tips on how to leverage Medicaid waivers to expand access to oral health and address disparities in access to dental treatment. The issue brief begins with an explanation of Medicaid waivers, including what they do and who they impact. This is followed by state-specific examples illustrating how Medicaid waivers can both expand the scope of coverage available and address barriers to care.

This issue brief from Justice in Aging discusses the deficit in data regarding guardianship in the United States and the problems that has created for reform efforts in the guardianship system. The brief addresses the need for data to understand who is under guardianship, why they are under guardianship, and the risks marginalized older adults face but are not reported. The issue brief includes current data reform efforts recommendations to advance equity in guardianship.

This issue brief was published by Justice in Aging, as a part of its four part series “Risks and Rewards of Demographic Data Collection: How Effective Data Privacy Can Promote Health Equity.” This brief highlights the privacy concerns faced by individuals who are enrolled in Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) or other models that coordinate care across programs, and discusses best practices that plans can put in place to strengthen protections for these vulnerable populations.

Justice in Aging has published a fact sheet aimed at aging and disability advocates, providing an overview of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) proposed rule on the Fair Housing Act's (FHA's) Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) mandate. The fact sheet summarizes the proposed rule's key features, which include setting out obligations for HUD grantees to identify and address fair housing issues in their communities. Advocates can provide input on the proposed rule until April 24, 2023.

On Monday, February 13, 2023, Justice in Aging released a fact sheet on what advocates can do to ensure that dually eligible older adults can do to avoid disruptions in care when Medicaid public health emergency flexibilities end. The sheet provides further information on the “unwinding” process and state partners to address specific challenges that face the dually eligible population.

Justice in Aging just released a new issue brief on the use of psychotropic medications in nursing facilities. The brief explores why reform initiatives have had limited success and the implications the use of psychotropic medications has on residents’ decision-making rights. In this installment of a series of issue briefs, Justice in Aging evaluates several proposals, and those proposals’ impacts on real-world residents.

This list of resources released by Justice in Aging in honor of AAPI Heritage Month features webinars, toolkits, and reports aimed at improving advocates ability to serve AAPI older adults. The list includes resources on language access rights, cultural competence, elder justice and more.

Justice in Aging's fact sheet, Adding Dental to Medicare Part B: 31 Million Low-Income Enrollees Would Gain Access to Medicare Coverage, describes how millions of low-income Medicare enrollees and Medicare enrollees of color would gain access to coverage if a dental benefit is added to Medicare Part B.

Justice in Aging's new fact sheet, Investing in Medicaid HCBS is Good for Medicare, explains why investing in Medicaid HCBS is good for people with Medicare and the Medicare program. Robust funding for Medicaid HCBS would expand access to services, helping people with Medicare who are dually eligible for Medicaid avoid hospitalizations and other costly care.

Justice in Aging has released a primer providing an overview of Medicaid HCBS, the bias within Medicaid towards institutional care, and how different states are serving older adults with disabilities in the community. It also briefly discusses the race, wealth, and population based inequities in the HCBS system.