AARP Public Policy Institute

Certain states significantly outperform others in the delivery of long-term services and supports (LTSS) to older adults and people with disabilities. The report examines four key dimensions of state LTSS system performance: affordability and access; choice of setting and provider; quality of life and quality of care; support for family caregivers. It assesses each state's performance overall as well as on 25 indicators, some of which measured for the first time. Compare data on the website.

With the first wave of 70 million baby boomers turning 65 this year, use of long-term services and supports (LTSS), which include home care, assisted living, and nursing home care, is on the rise. In this podcast, the authors and funders of a new scorecard measuring the performance of state LTSS systems, a resource that should help policymakers and providers identify gaps and develop solutions.

The estimated economic value of family caregivers’ unpaid contributions contribution was approximately $450 billion in 2009. If family caregivers were no longer available, the economic cost to the U.S. health care and long-term services and supports systems would increase astronomically. This report updates national and individual state estimates of the economic value of family care using the most current available data, and provides recommendations for taking care of the caregivers.

Health care reform offers opportunities for cash-strapped Medicaid programs to save money and get extra federal dollars. Amid the budget shortfalls that most states are experiencing, state policymakers should carefully consider the new opportunities presented by health care reform and direct their resources to those that will both improve health outcomes and services and realize cost savings or efficiencies.

Reverse mortgages offer older homeowners a way to tap home equity to meet financial needs in retirement. However, the collapse of the mortgage market in 2008–2009 has led to major changes that impact consumer choices. While consumers have more product choices, reverse mortgages are generally more expensive and more complicated. Learn more about how this has affected aging consumers and what Congress and regulatory agencies are doing to protect consumers here.

New data show that one in ten older adults are victims of mistreatment, with a higher percentage being victims of financial exploitation. Only a small percentage of elder abuse events are ever referred to agencies that can assist victims. Adult Protective Services (APS) offer victims of abuse, neglect, and exploitation a range of services. This report shows how calls to APS have increased since the recession began, but most states have either decreased or maintained their budgets for services.

To learn more about long-term services and supports, the key characteristics of a high-performing system, and new options and incentives in the Affordable Care Act that can support cost-effective programs to help people with disabilities remain in their homes and communities, access this article. This paper outlines the five key characteristics of a high-performing system of long-term services and supports and describes an emerging “scorecard” that could help measure states’ progress.

A vast majority of Americans age 50 and over would prefer to live independently in their own homes and communities as long as they can, rather than relinquish control over their lives in a nursing facility. In this brief video, AARP provides an overview of the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program, i.e., how it works, what it covers and how it can be beneficial.

Family caregiving has long been the most common source of long-term care for older people with disabilities in the U.S. Explore this report looking at recent trends in the types of assistance that older people with disabilities receive and sources of payment for this assistance. It presents major findings on the growing number of older people with disabilities in the community and their care arrangements, summarized by seven trends.

Several programs based on promising models for improving care for people with chronic conditions, who often experience difficult transitions across care settings that can compromise quality of care and increase costs were created by the heath care reform law. Most of these programs include some level of funding, evaluation, and discretion for the HHS Secretary to expand programs if they meet certain criteria. This fact sheet delineates these programs.