Archived conference materials / Presentations

For 26 years AcademyHealth's Annual Research Meeting (ARM) has convened health services researchers, providers, and key decision makers to address the critical challenges confronting the nation's health care delivery system. This years meeting brought together more than 2,300 health services researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in Chicago. Review presentations, participant lists, and full agenda.

In the webinar, Dr H. Stephen Kaye and colleagues Dr. Mitch LaPlante and Dr. Charlene Harrington discuss their published paper. Learn how increased Medicaid spending on home and community-based services affects overall long-term care costs. The paper analyzes the short-term versus long-term cost savings from HCBS expansion.

In 2006, Congress authorized states to add HCBS as an optional state plan benefit. Because the new benefits (referred to as 1915i) expands access, its addition to the Medicaid service menu has been welcomed by enrollees and advocates alike. This webinar will present an analysis of Medicaid’s new HCBS state plan option, which will include a discussion of the issues surrounding it, the states that have adopted it, and legislative proposals to modify it to ensure it achieves its intended purpose.

More than 130 policymakers, health services researchers, practitioners, and policy experts discussed the measures and evidence to examine whether the expansion of home and community-based services has produced desired outcomes (quality, choice, cost, satisfaction and safety) in the long term for older adults and persons with disabilities. The day was divided into four sessions: (quality, consumer-direction, targeting candidates, determining cost-effectiveness). View the agenda and presentations.

In March of 2006, 144 Minnesotans with disabilities and their families gathered to voice their concerns and ideas about meaningful choices and to learn about promising practices in employment and day services. People shared their experiences, strategies and best practices. Common themes from the workshops are gathered here and include definitions of meaningful daytime choice, things that contribute to it, things that prevent it, things that need to be improved, and recommendations.

The conference took place in May 2009 in North Carolina and focused on the global advancement of the principles of self-determination. Presenters spoke on topics including Medicaid reform, self-directed budgeting, self-employment; quality, education, advocacy; and youth, among others. Included here are slides from talks as well as essays by the organizer on the purpose of public funding for services and challenges facing Medicaid.

Villages are a grassroots effort to address the current and unfolding challenges of an older America. Originally started in MA in 2000, the concept arose out of older community members’ desire to reside in their own homes while being able to access services that address their needs related to aging. In Village arrangements, members pay an annual fee and pool their funds to collectively purchase services. The Village-to-Village website offers resources for communities starting programs.

How can state developmental disabilities agencies minimize service interruptions while absorbing budget cuts? At a 2008 forum, directors of these agencies shared their strategies, experiences and thoughts on the topic. Those ideas are synthesized here.

The presenters lead a discussion on the importance of local strategies for building affordable, accessible housing. They touch on how to identify key partners and opportunities, create a transition support network, and advocate for prioritizing housing in local programs. Examples of Money Follows the Person grantee activities are given, with a focus on Maryland’s experiences. Resources for conducting a local housing market assessment are also given.

In addition to recommendations for reforming long-term care, this report goes over why it should be reformed and suggests the first steps for accomplishing change in the public and legislative arenas. Finance, service delivery, workforce, and quality are all identified as focus areas for improvement, and options are provided for each. Special attention is paid to low-cost options as a place to start with bipartisan cooperation. The report is accompanied by presentation slides.