Michigan

A wage pass-through is an additional allocation of funds provided through Medicaid reimbursement for the express purpose of increasing compensation for direct-care workers. Twenty-one states have implemented these programs in expectation that doing so will help address the worker shortage. The purpose of this issue brief is to: describe the structure in selected states; summarize what is known about the impact of these programs on recruitment and retention; and identify key design elements.

The sixth biennial edition of the AARP Public Policy Institute's databook, presents an overview of long-term care in each state plus the District of Columbia by using numbers, graphs, charts, and maps. Data includes each state's demographics, need for LTC and HCBS services, the number of LTC workers per thousand people aged 65 and over, urban average for private-pay home health aide wages, and CNA hours per resident day. Each state is compared with others through rankings and national averages.

The survey results highlight inconsistencies and gaps in training, testing, and other pre-employment requirements for nursing assistants. The results from the nurse aide registries are presented in a series of charts. The survey notes who pays for pre-certification training in each state, whether candidates are allowed to become certified by passing the test without undergoing training, whether nurse aides pay a fee to be licensed or certified, who does criminal background checks, and more.

The Compendium contains basic information about each of the Real Choice Systems Change Grantees. The Compendium will help you learn more about how these grants will be used to allow more people of all ages with a disability or long term illness to live and participate in their communities. Real Choice Systems Change Grantees will also find the Compendium useful to identify other Grantees with similar goals and activities. The fourth edition of the Compendium replaces all previous editions.

This report focuses attention on a growing issue facing the nation: how to support & sustain those who are the cornerstone of our LTC system—the dedicated families & informal caregivers. This national study is the first to examine publicly funded caregiver support programs throughout all 50 states. The report identifies key findings, describes state approaches to providing caregiver support services, offers state-by-state profiles, pinpoints challenges, & expands recognition of caregiver needs.

NCHSD held its 4th Annual National Fall Technical Assistance Conference for Medicaid Infrastructure Grantees. This year’s meeting featured pre-conference regional gatherings, a day-long session on building public-private partnerships with employers, updates from our CMS partners, and a series of state expert panel presentations. Attached are the Fall 2004 Conference Edition eNews with highlights and promising practices plus the conference materials and presentations from every session.

Medstat identified common factors of system change in a six-page brief, based on a review of organization transformation literature and, more importantly, the experiences of eight state long-term support systems that were the subject of a series of case studies on comprehensive system reform.

To assist states in preparing for the challenges and opportunities they will face as baby-boomers age, the National Governors Association's Center for Best Practice's (NGA Center) published this report designed to identify current trends and future directions, and to assist state policymakers in creating programs and policies that respond to need. This data book provides information on demographic shifts, health care concerns, & long term care workforce shortages.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has published final FY 2005 Fair Market Rents (FMRs) that reflect the estimated 40th and 50th percentile rent levels trended to April 1, 2005. The FMRs determine the Section 8 payment amounts established by HUD for counties. FMRs apply to both renewal rents and initial rents for vouched programs. HUD is legally required to publish FMRs at least annually, adjusted to be effective on the first of October of each year.

This report provides analysis of NFT grantees annual reports (2002-2003). It includes aggregate data on the number of people who left or where diverted from a nursing facility, transition costs, length of nursing facility stay prior to transition, type of housing after transition, and age at time of transition.