Maryland

On February 9, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that eight states and the District of Columbia (DC) have been selected to participate in a new federal initiative, known as the “Housing and Services Partnership Accelerator” (Accelerator), to help strengthen partnerships across housing, disability, aging, and health sectors; access available federal programs and resources, and maximize federal flexibilities to help keep people healthy. The Accelerator will help these states and DC unlock critical resources to reduce homelessness by addressing health-related social needs, such as housing-related services...

Memo #3 relates to the option for participants to receive and providers to offer virtual supports for the following services: Employment Services; Supported Employment Services; Community Development Services; Day Habilitation Services; and Personal Support Services. The purpose of virtual supports is to maintain or improve a participant's functional abilities, enhance interactions, support meaningful relationships, and promote their ability to live independently, and meaningfully participate in their community.

CMS recently released a Report to Congress highlighting approaches five state programs implemented to address housing instability and improve treatment outcomes for people with Substance Use Disorder. Initiatives mentioned in the report focus on: providing housing-related supports that facilitate access to community resources; sharing data across systems to identify and target those in need for resources; and partnerships building across state and local health and housing systems and providers.

This report documents the nationwide housing affordability crisis experienced by people with disabilities. The report discusses how in 2016, millions of adults with disabilities living solely on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) found that renting even a modest unit in their community would require nearly all of their monthly income. The report offers policy recommendations to address this crisis.

This report presents the findings and conclusions of this national evaluation of the MFP demonstration. The MFP Rebalancing Demonstration program launched more than nine years ago. There are 44 grantee states, and as of the end of calendar year 2015, grantee states had transitioned a total of 63,337 Medicaid beneficiaries from long-term institutional care to community residences and home and community-based LTSS.

This issue brief provides an overview of state agency data systems that are utilized to collect, aggregate, and analyze data for the administration of the Older Americans Act (OAA) programs. This report provides a snapshot of current state systems in 2017, changes to which are impacted by both national and state-level factors.

This report from Truven Health Analytics describes section 1915(c) home and community based services waiver programs. Over 1.6 million people received section 1915(c) waiver services in 2014; this is a 5 percent increase from 1.5 million in 2013. Furthermore, the number of section 1915(c) waiver participants has increased by an average of 4 percent per year since 2009. Participants received services for an average of 10 months in 2014, as in previous years.

In 2017, ADvancing States administered a survey of state agencies that deliver LTSS, including aging and disability agencies as well as Medicaid programs, regarding the significant policy, fiscal, and operational issues occurring within each state. During the survey, we collected detailed information about the structure of agencies, the supports provided, and the populations served by state programs.

The National Association of State Budget Officers has a semi-annual report, with data gathered from all 50 state budget offices, that provides a narrative analysis of the fiscal condition of the states and data summaries of state general fund revenues, expenditures, and balances. The spring edition of the survey of the states details governors' proposed budgets.

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of senior population health on a national and state-by-state basis across 34 measures of senior health. The 2017 edition is the fifth publication of this report, which continues to serve as a benchmark of senior health for individuals, community leaders, policymakers, media and public health professionals.