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Find an example of a comprehensive, user-friendly guide to long term care planning. Developed by the District of Columbia, this publication provides a detailed overview of long term care (LTC) options, and includes information on understanding the need for LTC, costs, financing, and service and support options. Easy to understand graphics and data are included. This guide can serve as an example for other organizations looking to develop similar consumer-oriented materials.

How are federal agencies hiring, managing, and retaining employees with disabilities? This report draws from an online survey of government employees involved in the hiring or management process. Findings indicate that a number of barriers exist including lack of education around key mandates, lack of manager training and accountability. Though stereotypes were also a barrier, they were significantly less common in agencies with proper tools and knowledge.

Review this series of handouts that discuss key considerations for program planners and managers and staff involved in options counseling. Core competencies identified and detailed are: determining the need for options counseling; assessing needs, values and preferences; understanding and educating about public and private sector resources; facilitating self-direction/self-determination; encouraging future orientation; and following-up. Additional resources are offered for each core competency.

Long-term services and supports (LTSS) for the elderly and younger populations with disabilities are a significant component of national health care spending. In 2008, spending for these services was almost $191.1 billion (almost 10 percent of all U.S. personal health care spending), most of it paid by the federal-state Medicaid program. This publication presents data on LTSS spending by major public and private sources.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) established the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program, a new federally administered voluntary insurance program to help adults age 18 and over with disabilities pay for long-term services and supports (LTSS). This publication describes the major provisions of the legislation, including requirements for enrollment and eligibility, benefits and services, premium amounts, the CLASS Act trust fund, and timelines.

Explore the website of an independent, non-profit organization for long-distance caregivers. The site offers service directories to help locate local help and support, as well as information on topics such as evaluating needs and abilities, managing finances and legal documents and setting up caregiver family conferences. A number of related links and resources are offered including a secure repository for families to use in gathering information.

Integral to the coverage framework laid out in the reform law is a dramatic expansion of the Medicaid program. This primer provides key information about the program today, including a definition of what it is, who and what services are covered, Medicaid expenditures and how they are financed, and information of how health reform reshapes the program for the future.

Several of ACA’s provisions directly impact eldercare and disability employers and direct-care staff. This is the first in a series of fact sheets describing these. Key health reform provisions related to investments in direct-care worker training and workforce development are highlighted. These include national advisory panels as well as grant opportunities for states and individual employers. These provisions will be enacted over several years.

Find a listing of caregiver services drawn from numerous sources by DHHS’ New Freedom Initiative Subcommittee on Caregiving members, speakers and other stakeholders. The list is not intended to be exhaustive or all-inclusive. It includes several programs developed to support the caregiver such as Caring From A Distance and the National Caregiver Alliance.

The Departments of HHS, Labor, and Treasury issued regulations to implement a new Patient’s Bill of Rights under the ACA – which will help children (and eventually all Americans) with pre-existing conditions gain coverage and keep it, protect Americans’ choice of doctors and end lifetime limits on the care consumers may receive. Review this fact sheet, geared towards the consumer, summarizing the legislation’s impact on them.