Massachusetts

As part of the Massachusetts Independence Plus grant, the workgroup recognized there was a certain amount of risk associated with individualized budgeting. They devised a “Incident Reporting” System that would document any incidents (such as fall, funding problems, injuries) that would compromise the health of an individual with disabilities being served under the program. The forms were created to assist a future Massachusetts IP waiver and have not yet been adopted

The State of Massachusetts received Real Choice and Independence Plus grants. These presentations describe the projects, their structure, and an overview of grant activities. The goal of the Real Choice grant was to improve the quality and accessibility of home and community-based services available to individuals with disabilities. The goal of the Independence Plus grant was to recreate budgeting so that consumers were able to direct their budget and the services they receive.

Special Needs Plans (SNPs), authorized by the Medicare Modernization Act, offer state Medicaid programs a new potential vehicle for coordinating Medicare and Medicaid benefits for dual eligibles. This report investigates the degree to which states (and plans) are using this option to develop more fully integrated Medicare-Medicaid models for dual eligibles needing long-term care services.

Putting innovative research to work in the policymaking process takes tenacity and understanding on the part of researchers and lawmakers. This report offers a four-stage framework to support effective use of research in health policymaking and improve communications between researchers, state policymakers and program administrators. Review a case study from Massachusetts plus communication strategies and key practical lessons on understanding, developing, implementing, and evaluating policy.

Certainly, stigma is one of the more formidable obstacles to a transformed mental health system. This resource kit is intended to raise awareness of mental health and help counter the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental illnesses. Users are invited to use the kit with event planning, partnership development, outreach to schools and businesses, mental health resources, marketing to the general public, and grassroots outreach.

Launched in 2004, Flexible Services and Supports (the Pilot) gave participants control in calculating an individual budget where they then purchased services and goods to meet their community living needs. What were the experiences that provide lessons for the design and implementation of this model on a larger scale? This report reviews: design issues and implementation barriers, makes recommendations for future work, and describes any financial impacts of the Pilot on Medicaid utilization.

Creating a single assessment tool to be used across age and disability has been an interest of states, policy makers, and providers for years. An interest also exists to develop a consumer-driven participatory assessment where consumers take a more active role. Following review and input from a diverse work group, this tool was piloted for 16 months and a qualitative evaluation was conducted to determine its utility. The development process yielded key findings and recommendations.

Is your program challenged by effective methods to meaningful consumer involvement in the redesign of long-term services and support systems? This report reviews the history and effectiveness of the consumer involvement strategy used from the consumer, state partner, and grant staff perspectives. The report informs future consumer involvement methods in grant activities and other policy decision-making activities and also identifies lessons learned and creates recommendations.

This paper focuses on the experiences and perceptions of community liaisons and the managers of Consumer-Directed Agencies (managers) who participated in the Massachusetts Real Choice Pilot. The experiences of the Real Choice community liaisons and managers provide insight relevant for the larger implementation of the support brokerage component for an Independence Plus option that will be available within the Massachusetts Community First waiver.

A public voice for caregivers, the Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) offers information education, services, research and advocacy programs to support and sustain the vital work of families caring for loved ones. The website offers fact sheets, audio archives, referrals, newsletters, issue briefs and reports. A newly updated resource map called Caregiving Across the States allows state administrators, policy makers, and caregivers to access state-by-state data from an interactive database.