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The Administration's new COVID-19 testing initative will now allow people in either Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage to get up to eight over-the-counter COVID-19 tests per month at no cost starting this spring. Tests will be available through eligible pharmacies and other participating entities. This is the first time that Medicare has covered an over-the-counter test at no cost to beneficiaries. Through the new initiative, payment from Medicare will be provided directly to participating pharmacies to allow Medicare beneficiaries to pick up tests at no cost.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has launched the Community Connected Health Initiative, with the intention of integrating innovation, technology, and human connection to support communities in achieving better health. OSTP released a Request for Information (RFI) on Strengthening Community Health Through Technology. This RFI is open to all stakeholders and will likely remain open until March 31, 2022.

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) have released an updated data book, Beneficiaries Dually Eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. This is the sixth edition of the book and describes the dually eligible population’s composition, service use, and spending in 2019. The book compares subgroups of dually eligible beneficiaries, such as those with full and partial benefits as well as those under age 65 and those ages 65 and older.

The National Alliance for Caregiving has published a 2021 national report, "Caregiving in a Diverse America: Beginning to Understand the Systemic Challenges Facing Family Caregivers," which was based on results of the Caregiving in the U.S. 2020 study. The report analyzes the experience of over 800 caregiver respondents of different socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, and gender. The report also includes additional literature on diverse caregiving and research recommendations.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has added a new section to its COVID-19-related technical assistance to clarify when COVID-19 may be considered a disability and how this can impact employers, employees, and job applicants. The new section provides examples of when COVID-19 or disabilities arising from conditions that were caused or worsened by COVID-19, may meet the definition of disability under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act. It also addresses nondiscrimination protections provided to employees and job applicants under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act.

Starting on Wednesday, January 26, CMS began posting new information on the Care Compare website to help consumers better understand staffing levels and concerns at nursing home facilities that can influence the quality of care being provided to residents. Information on staff turnover and weekend staff will be posted for each facility.

The Center on Youth Voice, Youth Choice is a national youth resource center that supports alternatives to guardianship through research, self-advocacy, outreach, coalition building and education. The Community of Practice will discuss best practices, support long-term change, and help elevate the voices of youth leaders in this work. Applications to join this network are now being accepted.

This blog post from the Better Care Playbook discusses Medicare Advantage (MA) plans that support family caregivers, specifically hightlighing UCare in Minnesota and UPMC Health Plan in Pennsylvania. The blog post explains the importance of supporting caregivers and explores the considerations around offering caregiver support as a supplemental benefit.

Access to culturally appropriate respite care can support caregivers and allow people with dementia to continue aging in place. The International Association for Indigenous Aging has announced a new Indigenous respite care toolkit that aims to help build capacity for community-based respite care. The toolkit is a collaborative effort of Morning Star Lodge, an Indigenous community-based health research lab, File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council and a community research advisory committee comprised of people from 11 First Nations communities.

On Friday, January 14, 2022 the White House announced that free at-home, rapid COVID-19 tests are now available for order online. Those who do not have internet access or who need additional assistance with ordering can call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489) to place their orders. The Eldercare Locator and the Disability Information and Assistance Line (DIAL) also can assist older adults and people with disabilities with placing orders, and connect people to accessible instructions.