Massachusetts

The UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform and Modernization released a new brief. Many Americans do not have health insurance coverage, and Medicaid enrollment can cover the gap of the uninsured, if successful practices are used. This brief highlights four approaches used in Kentucky and Arkansas to increase enrollment for low-income residents to cut their uninsured populations in half. The solutions in this brief can inform other states on efforts to decrease the number of uninsured people.

This report is a study of the severe housing affordability problems experienced by people with disabilities. Priced Out calculates the difference between what an individual receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) can reasonably afford to pay for housing costs and the average cost of modest housing units. The report confirms that non-elderly adults with disabilities living on SSI confront an enormous housing affordability gap across the entire nation.

Adult day services (ADS)--a non-residential service provided outside an individual's home for less than a full day--provides direct care to older adults and younger adults with physical disabilities. This report provides information about each state's approach to regulating this key community service. The report details different models, forms of regulation, and funding sources used by states to run ADS programs.

This third edition of an annual report takes an in-depth look at the health of seniors in America. The report examines core measures of behaviors, community and environment, policy, clinical care, and outcomes. The findings are provided at a national level as well as in state summaries and rankings.

Every year the Administration for Community Living (ACL) uses U.S. Census data to compile a profile of the U.S. population over age 65. The population of older Americans is experiencing dynamic changes, and monitoring these changes over time is an important part of understanding current needs and preparing for future growth.

This report provides an overview of the extent and distribution of food insecurity in 2013 among seniors, along with trends over the past decade using national and state-level data.The report finds senior hunger is on the rise, and in 2013, 15.5% of seniors (or 9.6 million) faced the threat of hunger. If you would like to request a hard copy version, please email Ali Diaz at adiaz@advancingstates.org

Health plans for people with pre-existing mental illness, if they included mental health benefits at all, have historically been more expensive, with limited benefits and significant administrative hurdles to obtaining care.This report describes a survey conducted by NAMI to assess the experiences of people living with mental illness and their families with private health insurance.The findings of the survey are supplemented with an analysis of 84 health plans in the top 15 states.

This is one in a series of annual reports on participation in the Medicaid Buy-In program. It provides updates on both national- and state-level trends in enrollment, employment, and earnings among the 35 reporting Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG) states with a Buy-In program in 2011. Additionally, it addresses recent changes to state program rules and policies, and identifies factors that have affected recent Buy-In program enrollment, as reported by the states in an annual questionnaire.

This GAO report examines (1) the extent to which Medicaid enrollees have private insurance, and (2) the state and CMS initiatives to improve third-party liability (TPL). Given the findings in the report, GAO recommends that CMS routinely monitor and share information regarding key TPL efforts and challenges, as well as provide guidance on state oversight of TPL efforts conducted by Medicaid managed care plans.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides new but limited opportunities to promote or fund specialized transportation services for older people and adults with disabilities. This paper explains how states can use these largely untapped options to expand services for targeted low-income populations with mobility needs. It also presents two case studies illustrating how the Atlanta region and the state of Connecticut are making this work.