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Join the Partnership to Align Social Care, the Aging and Disability Business Institute, and Camden Coalition for a webinar series offering a deep dive into leading contracting practices to effectively and efficiently address health-related social needs (HRSNs). Each webinar in the series will focus on the essential elements of contracting between health care and community partners and feature leading practices from the field. Each event will also highlight key findings from a four-part toolkit, Healthcare Guide to Contracting with CBOs, developed with extensive input from CBOs, health plans, and health systems....

On September 26, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) designated people with disabilities as a population with health disparities for research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Designated populations experience significant disparities in their rates of illness, morbidity, mortality and survival, driven by social disadvantage, compared to the health status of the general population. This designation is one of several steps the NIH is taking to address health disparities experienced by people with disabilities and to ensure representation in NIH research studies.

On September 28, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a State Medicaid Director Letter which introduces the Medicaid Transportation Coverage Guide. The guidance highlights existing policies and also includes new policies to address scenarios for extended wait times and long-distance trips, and scenarios where non-Medicaid eligible parents, family members, or other caregivers may require transportation to participate in a Medicaid-eligible child’s care. CMS encourages states to use the document as a guide when developing and updating policies and procedures that facilitate robust transportation programs, noting that Medicaid transportation is a critical service that has a direct impact on health outcomes.

On September 25, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Civil Money Penalty Reinvestment Program (CMPRP) Revisions Memo: Ref: QSO-23-23-NHS. A civil money penalty (CMP) is a monetary penalty that CMS may impose against nursing homes for noncompliance with federal requirements. A portion of CMPs is collected from nursing homes and returned to the state in which CMPs are imposed. State CMP funds may be reinvested to support activities that support quality of care and life for nursing home residents. In order to ensure a consistent and equitable manner for CMP fund distribution, CMS has issued the CMPRP Revisions Memo to revise the structure of CMPRP in the following manner...

USAging has released the AAA National Survey Chartbook for 2022, funded by the U.S. Administration for Community Living, offering comprehensive insights into how Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) address housing, social engagement, and health equity needs among older adults. This triennial survey provides crucial data on trends, workforce, funding, partnerships, and service adaptations within the Aging Network. Additionally, USAging offers a Chartbook Toolkit, including state-level reports, data briefs, sample communication materials, and presentation slides, empowering AAAs to benchmark their services, advocate for funding, and share their impact on older adults' well-being.

The National Adult Protective Services Technical Assistance Resource Center Project (APS TARC), established by the Administration for Community Living (ACL) in 2016, recently released a report analyzing the current landscape of APS program structure and operations across the United States. The analysis in this report is based on the following objectives: Understand APS Program Context Understand APS Reporting and Intake Understand APS Investigations Understand APS Post-Investigation Services Understand APS Quality Assurance

The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) recently unveiled SupportCaregiving.org, a new website that offers resources that employers, funders, managed care plans, and states can use to implement the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers. This new web resource provides practical guidance and actionable steps for these stakeholders while also offering informative guides to state officials on key topics such as respite care, the direct care workforce, and state policy strategies aimed at enhancing caregiver support...

On Thursday, September 28, the AARP Public Policy Institute released the 2023 edition of its LTSS State Scorecard, which uses data from a wide range of sources to describe how state long-term services and supports (LTSS) systems are performing. Released every three years since 2011, the Scorecard measures LTSS systems across five different dimensions: affordability and access; choice of setting and provider; safety and quality; support for family caregivers; and community integration. The upcoming release of this year's LTSS Scorecard will also explore new focus areas, including equity, workforce, and the impact of COVID-19. Furthermore, the 2023 Scorecard will introduce "Innovation Points," a novel feature offering an innovative approach..

The National Conference of State Legislatures, a partner of the State Exchange on Employment & Disability, recently published a policy brief titled, “Trends in Disability Employment Legislation.” This resource explores key trends from the 2022 and 2023 state legislative sessions aimed at improving employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. These trends encompass incentivizing inclusive hiring practices, promoting competitive integrated employment, eliminating subminimum wages for workers with disabilities, addressing the impact of long COVID on the workforce, and enhancing mental health support in the workplace.

A recent study featured in the "Journal of Education and Work" aims to address the lack of longitudinal studies on the employment outcomes of long-term disabled individuals. While previous research has primarily focused on transitional factors and individual-level characteristics, this study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of disabled individuals' labor market experiences over time and across their life course. Leveraging social sequence analysis and extensive Norwegian longitudinal registry data spanning 24 years, the research is dedicated to identifying, describing, and forecasting stable employment paths among young individuals with disabilities, with particular attention to exploring the impact of gender...