Assessments

The AARP Public Policy Institute released a qualitative report to summarize the issues Illinois caregivers and older adults faced finding local LTSS resources. The report includes assessments of the quality of care accessed, supplemented by the first-person comments, and observations of the interviewees. The key themes outlined in the report include onset of illness and recognition of need for care, search for help, receipt of care, and promising policies and practices for improving the LTSS experience.

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is seeking public comments on its information collection requirements related to the Assessment and Evaluation of ACL's American Indian, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiian Programs Older Americans Act Title VI. OAA Title VI establishes grants to Native Americans for nutrition services, supportive services, and family caregiver support services. Information gathered through the Assessment and Evaluation of the Title VI Programs will inform ACL and its partners, other Federal agencies and administrators, current grantees, policymakers, and the field about ways to improve service delivery for older adults and their caregivers...

The National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices (NTG), and the Health Matters Program at the University of Illinois Chicago issued a new brief “Over Medication of Older Adults with Intellectual Disability: Risks for Brain Health”. The advisory cautions readers that arise from over medication and suggestions for steps that can be taken to prevent the over- medication of older adults.

KFF’s analysis released March 2, 2023, “Medicaid Enrollment Growth: Estimates by State and Eligibility Group Show Who may be at Risk as Continuous Enrollment Ends”, presents findings from the organization’s evaluation of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment data. KFF estimates nearly 95 million people enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP in March 2023 – an increase of 23.3 million enrollees with over half of the enrollee increase among adults under age 65 and nearly one-third among children. Also, five states – California, New York, Texas, Florida, and Illinois – comprise over one-third of the increase in Medicaid and CHIP enrollment while the rate of growth in enrollment varies among states.

On Tuesday, February 28th, CMS released the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. As of November 2022, over 65.3 million people are enrolled in Medicare; more than 35.1 million are enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare and over 30.2 have a Medicare Advantage plan. Over 91.7 million enrollees have Medicaid and CHIP; more than 84.8 million individuals have Medicaid and over 6.9 million have coverage through CHIP. Over 12 million individuals are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and are counted in the enrollment figures for both programs.

This past Tuesday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announce the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). As of October 24, 2022, over 65.2 million people are enrolled in Medicare, an increase of 132,757 since the last report. More than 35 million people are enrolled in Original or Fee-for-Service Medicare, and more than 30.2 million are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage or other health plan. Over 91.3 million enrollees have Medicaid (84.3+ million) and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) (7.0+ million), an increase of 462,322 since the last report. More than 12 million enrollees are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid and are counted for both programs.

This blog post by Edmondo J. Robinson, M.D., M.B.A., Peter J. Embí, M.D., M.S., Ramanathan Raju, M.D., M.B.A., and Yanling Yu, Ph.D. explores how social determinants of health have led to health inequity during the pandemic. Read the blog post to learn how health literacy and access to technology play a role in bridging the gap in health outcomes.

NAMD spoke with Medicaid Directors and senior program leaders to understand where they are focusing their time as they continue to respond to the pandemic, pursue long-term program innovation and improvement, and manage their staff. NAMD has found that Medicaid Directors and senior leaders are currently focusing on program innovation and strategic initiatives, stakeholder engagement, program operations, staff management, COVID response.

COVID-19 Antibody Testing of Patients with Chronic Conditions is being led by a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine. The purpose of the study is to determine the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine as well as COVID-19 antibody levels in patients who receive the vaccine with the following chronic conditions: HIV, an autoimmune condition, cirrhosis, or on home dialysis.

This resource aims to help human service agencies in states, tribes, and territories to measure their progress in developing person-centered systems. The Self-Assessment was designed to be used by staff at all levels. The Self-Assessment measures progress in eight different domains: Leadership; Person-Centered Culture; Eligibility & Service Access; Person-Centered Service Planning & Monitoring; Finance; Workforce Capacity and Capabilities; Collaboration & Partnership; and Quality & Innovation