Long Term Services and Supports

The AARP Public Policy Institute published a report that examined what state Medicaid agencies need in order to effectively monitor the performance of managed long-term services and supports (MLTSS) programs. Eight states with long-term experience operating and overseeing MLTSS were used to analyze monitoring capacities and develop promising practices. The states were: Arizona, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.

The results of the annual survey represent a snapshot of the current status of state government employees, the agencies that administer the programs, and the services that are provided. The 2015 survey revealed that states are continuing to address the same underlying challenges discussed in the previous reports.The report also includes summary tables that outline specific information about each individual state agency and LTSS program. Email adiaz@advancingstates.org to request a hard copy version.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted a study to examine the policy issue of long term care and its financing. This research investigated the awareness, attitudes, and understanding of long term care by Americans over the age of 40 through three different studies. The studies have explored diverse issues surrounding long term care like the caregiving experience, person-centered care experiences, and opinions on long term care policy.

The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) released a report on the Eldercare Locator, a national information and referral resource, funded by the Administration on Aging, that provides assistance to older adults and caregivers. The report draws on data from the locator, breaking the data into different categories.The trends in this data reflect information gathered from 271,234 contacts made with the Eldercare Locator.

The AARP Public Policy Institute released a new report conducted by Truven Health Analytics. The two part study examined Medicaid Managed Long Term Services and Supports program contracts in 18 different states for older adults and people with physical disabilities and case studies of new care coordination models in Ohio and Illinois. The findings indicate that states need care coordination and that these care coordinators provide crucial support for consumers and their family caregivers.

Through collaboration with the Universities of Minnesota, Colorado, and Massachusetts, this report focuses on the services and supports for individuals with I/DD in the U.S. territories. The first long-term data collection focuses on collecting, tracking, and analyzing services to provide information to improve and increase productivity, independence, integration, and inclusion of people with I/DD into their communities.

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 study provides insights into higher-hour caregivers (at least 21 hours of care a week), caregivers ages 75 and older, multicultural caregivers, and the challenges facing caregivers in the workplace. While the “typical” family caregiver is a 49-year-old woman who cares for a relative, caregivers on the whole are becoming much more diverse. The study found nearly a quarter of America’s caregivers are millennials between the ages of 18 and 34 and are equally likely to be male or female.

This primer describes long-term services and supports (LTSS) delivery and financing in the U.S. and highlights covered services and supports, types of care providers and care settings, beneficiary subpopulations, costs and financing models, quality improvement efforts, and recent LTSS reform initiatives.

This report addresses: 1) federal programs that fund HCBS and supports for older adults, in particular in-home and nutrition services, affordable housing, and transportation; 2) how HCBS and supports are planned and delivered in selected localities; and 3) agencies’ efforts to promote a coordinated federal system of HCBS for older adults.