South Carolina

The 50-state annual survey of budget conditions and Medicaid cost containment actions in FY2005-06 shows that all states implemented and planned more Medicaid cost-containment actions, but are also implementing expansions as the gap between Medicaid spending growth and state tax revenue narrowed.

This newly released biennial study verifies that low-income people with disabilities are experiencing a national housing affordability crisis. The Priced Out in 2004 study compares the monthly SSI income of more than 4 million Americans with disabilities to the fair market rental rates for efficiencies and modest one-bedroom apartments in every housing market in the country. Review more facts, figures and examples about housing and the national rent increases which greatly exceed SSI Benefits.

This is the fifth national survey of the direct-care workforce published by the National Clearinghouse on the Direct Care Workforce. It examines public policy actions taken by states to strengthen the direct-care workforce, and updates information collected in prior surveys. Responses were received from 38 states, representing a 76 percent return rate. The report contains data tables with survey results and details national initiatives pertaining to the direct care workforce.

Although consumer direction is a growing trend in publicly supported HCBS programs across the states, we know relatively little about how this approach is implemented in the states. This national study aims to describe the role of consumer direction in publicly funded family caregiver support services and HCBS programs with a family caregiving component. This report addresses three questions with the intent of informing policy discussions.

A key component of consumer-direction includes methods to ensure that essential supports are provided. This State Policy in Practice technical assistance document offers a practical example from the State of South Carolina. Care Call is a system developed to help South Carolina monitor service delivery provided though South Carolina Choice, an Independence Plus waiver that enables self-direction, and its other traditional home and community-based services (HCBS) waiver programs.

This report describes the FY 2002 and FY 2003 Grantees’ challenges and progress using information provided by the Grantees during the reporting period October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004. The report describes grant activities in four major LTC systems areas: Access to Long-Term Care Services and Supports, Services, Supports, and Housing, Administrative and Monitoring Infrastructure and Long-Term Care Service and Support Workforce

The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured has updated and improved the Medicaid Benefits Online Database, an interactive tool providing easy access to information on services provided by each state's Medicaid program. This site contains Medicaid Benefits survey data from 2003 and 2004 with information about benefits covered, limits, co-payments and reimbursement methodologies for the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Territories.

Long term care reform is happening across the nation and some states are using systems change as an opportunity to better coordinate across aging and disability networks. Using the HHS framework as a guide, this paper examines promising practices in LTC reform in four states: Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, and Wisconsin. As part of our examination of systems change in these states, we will consider how their LTC reform efforts have impacted collaboration across aging and disability networks.

This memorandum presents state-by-state data on Medicaid long term care expenditures in Federal Fiscal Year 2004 (October 2003 through September 2004). The accompanying tables present data on Medicaid Expenditures for Long-Term Care services from 1992 to 2004. A new table this year shows the effect of supplemental nursing facility payments in some states on expenditure data. A separate file ranks states based on the proportion of LTC spending for community services.

This entry presents data on Medicaid 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver expenditures from Federal Fiscal Years 1999-2004. As in previous years, information is classified for each individual HCBS waiver by the target population served in order to present information on the distribution of HCBS waiver expenditures across long term care populations. Tables include waiver spending by target population; growth in spending; expenditures by state; distribution of expenditures.