Quality

The Administration on Aging (AoA) has a new page on its website that highlights program and funding opportunities within the Affordable Care Act that relate to the mission and vision of AoA and the Aging Network. Topics covered include Medicare and Medicaid, prevention, and webinars and technical assistance resources.

Organizations are assisted in enrolling seniors & younger adults with disabilities with limited means into the benefits programs for which they are eligible so that they can remain healthy & improve the quality of their lives. New features available on the site include fact sheets with detailed info about core benefits programs, a clearinghouse of promising practices, & a library of sample benefits outreach materials, webinar slides, & publications—all searchable by topic, state, & keyword.

Enrollment in MFP continued to grow steadily with 15,818 cumulative transitions to the community as of June 30, 2011, a 33 percent increase from the end of 2010. The states reported 3,722 new transitions during the six-month period from January to June 2011, 9 percent more than in the previous six-month period. The report provides an overview of state MFP grantee progress on key performance indicators and challenges states reported when implementing their transition programs.

Existing national disability-related survey & administrative data are limited in their ability to meet needs of federal programs & policy makers. One potential response to these shortcomings is the fielding of a national disability survey. This report was prepared to assess the need for developing & fielding another national disability survey data collection effort. It presents findings from one of the project’s major activities designed to review the disability-related information.

As state and federal agencies strive to meet the growing needs of people with disabilities while using fewer resources, better disability data are needed for monitoring and improving the health, economic status, and overall well-being of this population. The report identifies limitations in national survey data on disability and outlines a wide range of potential short- and long-term options for addressing them, including developing and fielding a national disability survey.

This brief describes key features of Georgia’s MFP program & highlights recent experiences. Through MFP, Georgia has achieved a 2 percent growth in annual spending on home & community-based services. With the extension of MFP under the ACA, the state plans to continue the program through 2016 with hopes to transition more than 2,000 individuals with the help of over $93 million in enhanced federal matching funds. Also, review brief profiles on several Georgia residents enrolled in the program.

In an effort to improve care & reduce costs, states & the federal government are seeking new ways to provide services to people eligible for both Medicare & Medicaid. Missing from the discourse are the voices of these dual eligibles. Changes to the way their care is organized & delivered could have profound effects on their health, quality of life, & satisfaction. This project aims to complement state & federal efforts by offering perspectives on what duals want from their models of care.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires that quality of life surveys be conducted for Money Follows the Person participants transitioning from habilitation centers and nursing facilities into the community. Review this survey as a potential template for your MFP program. This website recruits potential surveyor applicants and offers a sample Surveyor Letter, Application, Confidentiality Statement, Screening and Vendor Input Form.

This policy brief is part of Center for Health Care Strategies’ Technical Assistance for Dual Eligible Integrated Care Demonstrations program, made possible through The SCAN Foundation and The Commonwealth Fund. Through this program, CHCS is helping demonstration states develop and implement integrated-care models for individuals eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid services.

These Guiding Principles were developed to help to preserve the rights of individuals under participant direction, no matter what form or model, if and when workers choose to form a union. The NRCPDS cover letter, Guiding Principles, and NRCPDS Director Kevin Mahoney's signing ceremony remarks are available here.