All States/Territories

The Office of the Actuary in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) annually produces projections of health care spending for categories within the National Health Expenditure Accounts, which track health spending by source of funds (e.g. private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid), by type of service (hospital, physician, prescription drugs, etc.), and by sponsor (businesses, households, governments). The latest projections begin after 2014 and go through 2025.

The National Center on Leadership for the Employment and Economic Advancement of People with Disabilities (LEAD) published two policy briefs to provide a summary description from a disability perspective on the Final Rules implementing Title I (Workforce Development Systems) and Title IV (State Vocational Rehabilitation) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). These policy briefs highlight important requirements and activities that will impact individuals with disabilities.

On Friday, July1, 2016, Mathematica Policy Research published a report summarizing the basic approach to rate-setting in Medicaid managed care and reviews the main options for structuring managed LTSS (MLTSS) rates. It presents examples from states with financial alignment demonstrations as well as long-standing MLTSS programs. The report concludes by highlighting the policy and operational considerations that should influence a state’s choice of strategy.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics in collaboration with the Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability published this month's National Trends on Disability Employment report (nTIDE). Each month this report is published to mark the changes of employment for people with disabilities.

The Center for Policy and Evaluation, Administration for Community Living (ACL) published the policy brief “Promoting Community Living for Older Adults Who Need” in June, which marked the 17th anniversary of the Olmstead v. LC Supreme Court decision. The Olmstead decision has helped older adults and people with disabilities receive more integrated care; however, the policy brief outlines opportunities that states have to further improve their home and community-based services (HCBS).

This White Paper explains a proposed quality framework for managed care programs serving individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (ID/DD). The framework, developed by UnitedHealthcare's National Advisory Board, extends beyond traditional clinical measures to benchmark the quality of the "services and supports" delivered in these programs to measure how these programs address individuals' quality of life.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released their monthly report for April 2016 on Medicaid and CHIP application, eligibility determination, and enrollment data. States provides data to CMS on factors related to key application, eligibility and enrollment processes using the Medicaid and CHIP Performance Indicator Project. The data is then used to inform CMS on the operations of the programs in each state and to share state performance data publicly.

On Thursday, June 30, 2016, the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education have announced the advanced posting of five rules implementing Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). WIOA legislation is designed to strengthen and improve the public workforce system and help get Americans, including youth and those with significant barriers to employment, into high-quality jobs and careers and help employers hire and retain skilled workers.

CMS posted two new reports with Medicaid LTSS expenditures data. The first report focuses on the most recent data available and recent trends such as 1) an increase in LTSS provided in managed care programs and 2) increased used of newer Medicaid LTSS options authorized in the Deficit Reduction Act and the Affordable Care Act. The second report, “Improving the Balance,” uses data from FY1981 through FY2014 and documents the transition of Medicaid LTSS from institutional services to HCBS.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has issued an Economic News Release on “Persons with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics,” which shows, among other statistics, that the unemployment rate for people with disabilities fell to 10.7% in 2015 from 12.5% in 2014. The data on persons with a disability are collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of about 60,000 households that provides statistics on employment and unemployment in the United States.