Medicaid

A survey of state aging, disability and Medicaid agencies was conducted in 2012, in order to better understand challenges and concerns for funding and providing quality LTSS. Five common themes were identified in this report, including staff turnover and reductions during a sluggish recovery of state budgets. Other findings include an overall expansion of home and community-based services, LTSS transformation and reduced funding and high demand for non-Medicaid aging and disability services.

This report describes research conducted on the continuity of enrollment of Medicaid beneficiaries. Continuous enrollment in a health insurance plan promotes chronic disease management and is more cost-effective. The research found that Medicaid beneficiaries are on average enrolled in the program for just 9.7 months out of the year. This disruption in enrollment leads to higher monthly medical costs and interferes with efforts to measure quality of care delivered through Medicaid.

Ethnic minorities and LGBT older adults will continue to become more represented among the older adult population. A lifetime of discrimination has often adversely affected LGBT elders of color in a myriad of ways, including greater likelihood of financial instability and heightened health disparities. This report offers policy solutions to support the wellbeing of this growing population. Policy solutions include strengthened outreach and community supports to LBGT elders of color.

The Affordable Care Act authorized the Medicaid Health Home State Plan Option, which allows states to design health homes to provide comprehensive care coordination for Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic conditions. States will receive enhanced federal funding to support the rollout of this new integrated model of care. This link directs to the Health Home Resource Center that provides technical assistance services for states as they submit their proposals for these health homes to CMS.

A representative sample of 1,019 adults ages 40 or older were interviewed regarding their experiences and beliefs about their need for long-term care services, what such care would cost, and how such issues fit into their concerns about growing older. This report outlines survey findings. Findings include, 58% of participants underestimate the cost of nursing homes, 41% have discussed long-term care preferences with family and 51% support a government sponsored long-term care insurance program.

An updated fiscal outlook of state and local governments projects an ever increasing gap between receipts and expenditures through 2060, absent any policy changes. The report found that this decline in the state and local government sectors' operating balance is primarily due to rising health related costs of state and local expenditures on Medicaid and the cost of health care compensation for state and local government employees and retirees.

SAMHSA has updated its definition of recovery as it pertains to substance use and mental disorders. This working definition and set of guiding principles reflects the increased role peer supports and Peer Specialists have been playing in mental health programming. This document provides a summary of SAMHSA’s new definitions, as well as a checklist for effectively using peer supports in a variety of mental health programs.

This report examines the importance of Medicaid as a safety net for financing long-term services and supports (LTSS). Most older adults will require some form of LTSS, but paid LTSS can be very expensive. Unpaid, family caregiving has enormous economic value and currently accounts for the greatest portion of LTSS provision. However, if an individual needs paid LTSS, and can't afford LTSS insurance, Medicaid is often needed after an individual spends down their assets.

This checklist prepared by the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) highlights the ACA Medicaid requirements that will take effect in the next two years, nearly all of which will apply to states regardless of whether the state chooses to expand Medicaid eligibility.

CMS will provide individualized technical assistance to the states on managed care program operations, including planning and procurement, benefit design and serving the needs of complex populations, access and quality, and the use of data for program oversight and management. The Medicaid Managed Care Technical Assistance Center is part of CMS's larger efforts to provide comprehensive information and guidance on Medicaid managed care program operations.