Pennsylvania

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.

Working together, housing and health care partners can launch initiatives that lead to improved health, safety, and quality of life for low-income older adults facing multiple health and social challenges. This guide outlines how housing and health providers can work together to make life better for older adults.

Generations United has developed a series of tools to help communities develop intergenerational best practices. This publication compiles some of these tools including: planning tips from across the United States, inspiring stories from award winning communities, engagement and development scales to assess programs, self-administered community assessment, and an infographic on why intergenerational solutions are critical to building strong communities.

This report examines pilot programs in three states designed to expand access to SNAP for low-income elderly people and people with disabilities. The multiyear, multimode study, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service, found that all of the pilot projects had positive effects on SNAP applications and approvals among the target population; however, some effects were very small in a practical sense.

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.

As almost half of the States have implemented MLTSS programs, community-based organizations, will be significantly impacted. At the 2013 HCBS conference, ADvancing States, with support from the SCAN Foundation, held a day-long intensive to discuss these impacts. This report outlines 5 discrete roles that CBOs are well-suited to play in MLTSS programs using as a reference point CMS’ 2013 guidance on MLTSS program design and implementation. To request a hard copy version, email Ali Diaz at adiaz@advancingstates.org.

This study focuses on understanding the rates and patterns of enrollment in Medicaid among individuals already enrolled in Medicare, the factors that predict this transition to dual coverage, and those that predict nursing home entry. This volume of this report is a descriptive examination of the number and characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries who transition to dual coverage in the coming year.

Despite states' rebalance of long-term care (LTC) systems with greater emphasis on home and community-based services (HCBS), many low-income elderly, persons with physical disabilities, and persons with intellectual/developmental disabilities continue to reside in institutions. Through an analysis of Medicaid enrollment and LTC claims data, this report provides information on the characteristics of institutionalized enrollees, their stays, and the interaction of institutional services and HCBS.