Arkansas

This report describes the enduring changes brought about by the NFT Grantees who either established or improved nursing facility transition programs or helped establish infrastructure. This two-part paper first examines changes and remaining challenges, lessons learned and recommendations, and later provides state-specific summaries. Review grantee activities including new statutes, policies, funding and expense changes, plus outreach and technical materials developed to facilitate transition.

Grantees are required to establish measurable performance goals for their programs as well as indicators that enable them to track progress. Relating to consumer and client satisfaction with services, it is important that established goals assess visibility, trust, ease of access and responsiveness of program functions and staff. This summary contains findings of ADRCs assessments of consumer satisfaction relating to performance indicators and reported in the semi-annual report.

The Medicaid Infrastructure Grant Research Assistance to States (MIG-RATS) Center launched a website to provide resources and support to states implementing MIGs. The website is designed to help staff find research reports and resources, learn about MIG-RATS activities and initiatives, and connect with MIG researchers. The website includes info on topics such as Medicaid Buy-In programs, outreach and marketing, and youth in transition and also provides links to tools and a calendar of events.

The annual 50-state survey of state officials on Medicaid and state budget actions reports enrollment in Medicaid declined. This decline was driven primarily by two factors. States reported new citizenship documentation requirements were causing delays in processing applications, affecting individuals already eligible for the program. State officials also cited good economy and lower unemployment for reducing enrollment. 42 states expect to expand coverage to the uninsured in the next year.

The Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc. summarizes findings from a survey of Medicaid agencies to identify which consumer-directed approaches are being considered and implemented. Findings show growing trends toward consumer direction, agencies initiating policies to reward health-related behaviors and increasingly allocating control of funds to recipients, and states interest in health savings account-like plans and increasingly providing health plan quality data to the public.

HHS announced an $8.8 million investment to help states provide more affordable choices to individuals struggling to remain in their homes and communities as they age. A total of $5.7 million in federal funding was awarded to 12 states for grants for this nursing home diversion program that will improve state efforts to assist individuals avoid unnecessary nursing home placement, impoverishment and spend-down to Medicaid.

This memorandum and tables present data on Medicaid 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver expenditures from Federal Fiscal Years 2001 through 2006. Each HCBS waiver is classified by population served in order to show the distribution of HCBS waiver expenditures across long term care populations. This year's memo also identifies which waivers exclusively serve children.

The Arkansas MIG grantees, the EmployAbility Project, developed a number of handouts and fact sheets to help medical professionals and counselors understand the program. Review the definition of working disabled and medically improved plus a fact sheet on Medicaid Screening for Working Disabled Medicaid.

This memorandum presents data on Medicaid long-term care expenditures in Federal Fiscal Year 2006 (Oct 2005-Sept 2006). Table 1 presents national data on Medicaid expenditures for Long-Term Care from 1994-2006. Other tables present state-by-state data for Nursing Homes, ICF/MR, Personal Care, HCBS Waivers, Home Health, Home Care, Inpatient Hospital Care, Inpatient DSH, Inpatient Mental Health, Mental Health DSH, Medicaid Managed-Care, Prescribed Drugs, Targeted Case Management and PACE.

The Arkansas MIG grantees developed a number of resources to spread the word about the ways that people with a disability or severe long-term illness can work. The program designed brochures, posters, newspaper ads, coffee mugs, t-shirts, magnets, and table displays all designed for agency workers, consumers, advocates.