New Jersey

The Department of Health and Human Services announces $36 million in new grant programs to 28 states to help older Americans, veterans, and people with Alzheimer’s disease to remain in their homes and communities. About $19 million of this involves a collaboration between the Administration on Aging and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The grants are designed to reach people who are not eligible for Medicaid but are at high risk for nursing home placement and to spend-down to Medicaid.

A recent trend in health care has been the increasing integration of behavioral health services into primary care settings. This paper discusses the benefits of such integration and the role of safety net primary care providers as behavioral health providers within the Medicaid program. The authors focus on organizational structure and reimbursement models in analyzing how four state programs achieve this integration.

AARP Bulletin Online has compiled a state-by-state list of local supports to help you quickly access transportation in your community. More than 6,000 transit systems nationwide provide some form of service to older riders, from reduced fares to use of low-floor vehicles to personalized training sessions. This resource puts information about these options in one place.

This memorandum and tables present data on Medicaid 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver expenditures from Federal Fiscal Years 2002 through 2007. Each HCBS waiver is classified by population served in order to show the distribution of HCBS waiver expenditures across long term care populations.

This memorandum presents data on Medicaid long-term care expenditures in Federal Fiscal Year 2007 (Oct 2006-Sept 2007). Table 1 presents national data on Medicaid expenditures for Long-Term Care from 1995-2007. Other tables present state-by-state data for Nursing Homes, ICF/MR, Personal Care, HCBS Waivers, Home Health, Home Care, 1115 Waivers focused on HCBS, and other Medicaid services.

This publication provides a summary overview of the accomplishments and enduring changes brought about by all of the Systems Change NFT Grantees Despite bringing about many enduring systems improvements, Grantees reported that many transition barriers remain. Grantees made recommendations to help states address continuing barriers to nursing facility transition and diversion so that no one need live in a nursing home simply because sufficient community services and supports are unavailable.

Mathematica researchers examine the effects that the Medicaid Buy-In program has had on participants’ earnings. The first brief looks at whether earnings increase after enrollment. The second profiles the workers that earn the highest wages. The last brief profiles all Buy-In participants and compares earnings data by state. Each brief analyzes the traits of the workers and different state programs to identify successful strategies.

How many people served by home and community-based mental health services in your state are employed? This DataNote explores this question and illustrates a wide variance in outcomes between states, suggesting the need for further research to identify and implement best practices.

Thanks to the steadily increasing demand for home care, the second fastest-growing occupation in the country is that of personal and home care aides (PHCAs). Yet PHCA wages - which were low to begin with - are failing to keep up with inflation nationwide. A new publication looks at the decline in inflation-adjusted wages. Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it charts the wages received by personal and home care aides in all 50 states and the nation over a seven-year period.

States are ranked in this report based on the outcomes of Medicaid services provided to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The key outcomes measured are the promotion of independence and meaningful employment, tracking quality and safety, keeping families together, and reaching those in need. Each state’s progress is measured by comparing data from the previous year. This report is issued annually with past editions available on the included website.