All States/Territories

This study examines the specific capacities that state Medicaid agencies need to monitor the performance of managed LTSS (MLTSS) programs. It sought to identify promising practices in state oversight as well as the monitoring capacities that should be in place when states begin to implement new or expanded MLTSS programs. Lessons were drawn from oversight practices in eight states (AZ, MA, MN, NM, NY, TN, TX, WI) that have many years of experience operating and overseeing MLTSS.

This fact sheet traces the efforts to improve State systems of care for children with serious emotional disturbance (SED) after the Child and Adolescent Service System Program was implemented in 1984. Information on the benefits of respite services for families and caregivers of children with SED, indicators of SED, and strategies for respite program implementation can be found here. Resources to different organizations are also provided for families and children with SED.

Review additional discussion of assisted living and residential care in the states, and learn more detailed data on assisted living and residential care capacity. Assisted living and other residential settings represent a critical component of the LTSS system for older adults who cannot live alone, but do not require the skilled care provided by nursing homes. In 2010, states reported a total of 51,367 licensed residential care settings with a total capacity of 1,233,690 beds.

What are the fundamental principles of caregiver assessment and why do assessments have an important role in a high-performing long-term services and support system? Caregiver assessment is a systematic process of gathering information about a caregiving situation to identify the specific problems, needs, strengths, and resources of the family caregiver, as well as the ability of the caregiver to contribute to the needs of the care recipient.

This report summarizes the progress of Money Follows the Person (MFP) grant programs in 33 states and the District of Columbia. MFP grants support state efforts to help individuals living in institutions move to home and community based services (HCBS). The document examines numbers of people who transitioned, reinstitutionalization rates, achievement of spending goals on Medicaid HCBS, and major accomplishments and implementation challenges.

This invitational symposium, sponsored by the Hilltop Institute, aims to examine the status of LTSS integrated record systems, prospects for future development, and ways to ensure that this new source of information is available to those who need it most. Electronic health record research and development, as well as government and private funding, is ubiquitous. Not so well-attended is the need to modernize, standardize, and integrate non-medical services records in the LTSS sector.

This fact sheet describes “Community First Choice Option” – one of the rules that the CMS recently released to expand access to home and community based services (HCBS) for people with disabilities. States that elect the Community First Choice option are eligible for a 6 percentage point increase in their federal medical assistance percentage. Individuals who require an institutional level of care are eligible for the services, which will be offered in community-based settings.

The analysis in this report finds that a federal paid family and medical leave program would most likely have positive effects on employment and lifetime income, as national data consistently show that access to any form of parental leave, paid or unpaid, makes women more likely to return to work after giving birth. These effects would be largest for less-educated and lower-income families, who currently have the lowest levels of access to any form of leave, paid or unpaid.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) established a voluntary public insurance program for long-term care: the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act. In October 2011, the Obama Administration suspended the CLASS Act because of the high risk of fiscal insolvency. This article discusses several CLASS Act design and implementation issues, including the voluntary enrollment, the weak work requirement, the lifetime and cash benefits, and the premium subsidy for low-income workers.

This critical essay examines how effectively the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) addresses prevailing deficiencies in the nation's long-term care system and whether the ACA will result in meaningful reform. This article also reviews the basic problems plaguing the long-term care sector and the provisions within the ACA meant to address them, including incentives/options for expanding home- and community-based care and a number of research and demonstration projects.