California

This updated resource provides a state-by-state look at trends in wages for PCAs, the fourth fastest growing occupation in the country, and a key job title within the direct-care workforce. Prepared as a resource guide on wages for advocates and policymakers concerned with the direct-care workforce, the data underscore the problem of low wages for PCAs, factors which contribute to workforce instability and near-poverty incomes for this high-demand workforce.

This policy brief from Georgetown University, produced with support from The SCAN Foundation, reviews Medicaid's importance and current funding limitations for long-term care and makes the case for strengthening Medicaid two possible ways - full federal responsibility for Medicare beneficiaries who also rely on Medicaid or an enhanced federal match for Medicaid long-term care services. Each approach carries with it a federal commitment to bear the brunt of a growing elderly population.

Risk factors associated with the incidence of recipient injuries, bedsores and contractures, and health care use among aged and non-aged adult personal care recipients are investigated. Data are from a statewide survey of aged and non-aged adult personal assistance service (PAS) recipients in California's In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program. Outcomes among recipients using relatives as paid providers are compared with those of recipients having non-relatives as providers.

Both of these large state waivers affect hundreds of thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries, involve billions of federal Medicaid matching funds, and are designed, in part, to promote changes in the health care delivery system that will result in better care for individuals, better population health, and reductions in costs through system improvements. They have a number of key similarities and differences as summarized in the side-by-side table within this fact sheet.

How many older adults in your state have experienced a fall—and who is working to improve those numbers? The following documents were created to assist in education activities supporting falls prevention initiatives for older adults.

How many people have participated in federally supported evidence-based health promotion programs in your state—and who is involved in these efforts? Find out in our new state profiles compiled by NCOA’s Center for Healthy Aging. The downloadable profiles provide facts about health challenges facing seniors, as well as state efforts to improve older adult health.

When assessing the needs of persons with dementia and caregivers in the community, it is important to understand the number of persons affected and their unique needs for services and programs. This toolkit complements the issue brief titled Making the Long-Term Services and Supports System Work for People With Dementia and Their Caregivers by identifying resources that states and communities can use to design initiatives to ensure that programs are dementia-capable.

In the context of “rebalancing” efforts, the authors describe flexible accounting as budgeting practices and contractual language that incentivize the use of less expensive noninstitutional programs and use savings to expand lower-cost services to further reduce the state’s use of institutional care. The authors offer recommendations for California and pay special attention to flexible accounting in Medicaid managed LTSS and identify examples of flexible accounting practices.

Each year, AoA compiles a summary of the latest statistics on individuals 65 years or older across 15 topical areas including income, poverty, employment, health, disability, and caregiving. This report has now been updated to reflect the most recent year for which data is available, 2010.

This brief reviews Medicaid’s importance and limitations when it comes to long-term care and makes the case for strengthening Medicaid’s safety net in one of two ways—assumption of full federal responsibility for Medicare beneficiaries who also rely on Medicaid (so-called “dual eligibles”) or an enhanced federal match for Medicaid long-term care services.