Long Term Services and Supports

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 offers options & financial incentives for states seeking to expand systems of long-term services and supports. Many of these opportunities work together & build on existing initiatives, resulting in a strengthened infrastructure for service provision & an LTSS system that meets the needs of Medicaid beneficiaries. Key provisions of the ACA are summarized in this issue brief, followed by considerations for states seeking to take advantage of new opportunities.

With the growing role of home and community-based services in Medicaid long-term services & supports, an understanding of the different characteristics of the population transitioning from institutional care to HCBS, the trends occurring in LTSS & the effect of the different programs is needed. Hilltop developed a series of metrics to present to the Maryland Money Follows the Person Stakeholder Advisory Group now in the form of chart books. These metrics can be tailored for any state.

With the first wave of 70 million baby boomers turning 65 this year, use of long-term services and supports (LTSS), which include home care, assisted living, and nursing home care, is on the rise. In this podcast, the authors and funders of a new scorecard measuring the performance of state LTSS systems, a resource that should help policymakers and providers identify gaps and develop solutions.

Adult day services (ADS) centers are a key provider of long-term care services. As well as providing direct service, they benefit family caregivers by enabling them to remain in the workforce or receive needed respite. Data was collected and analyzed from a representative sample of centers, focusing on the characteristics of services, profile of participants, and the range of services offered. The study provides a picture of current adult day services and offers a look to the future.

This policy brief examines the program created to provide financial support for home care, adult day care or a nursing home stay, and highlights how policy-makers could make the program sustainable. Options range from changing the premium structure and lengthening the vesting period, to incentivizing employers and more. The Obama administration acknowledges the program’s shortcomings and will ensure the program remains solvent and self-financing for at least 75 years, as the law requires.

The estimated economic value of family caregivers’ unpaid contributions contribution was approximately $450 billion in 2009. If family caregivers were no longer available, the economic cost to the U.S. health care and long-term services and supports systems would increase astronomically. This report updates national and individual state estimates of the economic value of family care using the most current available data, and provides recommendations for taking care of the caregivers.

Long-term services and supports (LTSS) for the elderly and younger populations with disabilities are a significant component of national health care spending. In 2009, spending for these services was $203.2 billion (almost 10 percent of all U.S. personal health care spending), most of it paid by the federal-state Medicaid program. This publication presents data on LTSS spending by major public and private sources.

Launched this spring, this new online community for advocates working to strengthen and protect home and community-based services unites professionals in the aging and disability fields so that they can share ideas with peers, collaborate, and find resources to enhance efforts in their states. Anyone with an interest in these issues is welcome to join.

In one stop, use this national resource to find important information regarding assisted living. Resources include research findings and outcomes, exemplary assisted living practices, measures, and public policies and programs, consumer materials, links to relevant websites, international documents and abstracts, media articles, training and education materials, expert opinion pieces, and more.

The Community Living Initiative is an effort to give people with disabilities and older adults greater opportunities to live in their communities and achieve their goals. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services identified several issues and challenges in the development and refinement of new strategies to support and promote community living. HHS held four Listening Sessions around the country with state & local officials, consumers, service providers, and advocates.