Assessments

First illustrating the US workers’ compensation system, this article continues to detail worker’s compensation programs and how they function. A historical overview and the basic objective of worker’s compensation laws are also reviewed. The article ends with a discussion of issues, challenges, and promising practices.

This report focuses on creating a more balanced delivery system by expanding home and community-based services and reducing reliance on institutional care where possible is a major goal for virtually all states and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The paper concludes by summarizing initiatives and drawing implications for the future financing of home and community-based services.

The proportion of long-term care spending that goes to institutional care has been dropping over time, from 81 percent in 1995 to 63 percent in 2005. However, there remains significant concern that many people who would prefer to receive care in the community are unable to do so because of what has been termed the ‘institutional bias’ of Medicaid. This report discusses the issues surrounding efforts underway to shift the balance toward HCBS in the state of Pennsylvania.

Looking for profiles of each State’s Home-and Community-Based Service (HCBS) programs? This project report covers the components of HCBS programs under multiple funding streams. It includes an overview of findings from cross-state comparisons with accompanying tables and charts and individual profiles of 48 states and Washington, DC. The findings are intended to provide states with information that can help guide their efforts to expand and improve HCBS programs.

This is the third report in a series, from Mathematica's five-year evaluation of the Money Follows Person demonstration, aimed at helping Medicaid enrollees transition, from long-term care institutions to the community. It describes states’ early implementation experiences and state transition activity as of December 2008. Also discussed, are the challenges that states have encountered in trying to launch the program, and implications for making fundamental changes in the long-term care system.

Review the findings from a survey of eldercare and disability services employers. While most employers in the state offered employer-sponsored insurance, less than one-fifth of Massachusetts direct-care workers were enrolled in 2009. Based primarily on data from the survey, the main reason for the low number and recommendations are outlined in this report that deals with the impact of Massachusetts health reform on the eldercare and disability services sector.

Making use of data and knowledge sharing to drive benefits outreach, enrollment, and retention efforts promotes the efficient use of limited resources, states a new issue brief from NCOA's National Center for Benefits Outreach & Enrollment. Sharing data also can help enroll eligible individuals in more than one benefits program at a time.

What are some of the highlights and milestones of the CLP programs? Review the presentations given at the The Gerontological Society of America Annual Meeting on November 19-22, 2009. Officials from the Administration on Aging and representatives from Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts and New York on presented.

The National Technical Assistance and Research Center to Promote Leadership for Increasing the Employment and Economic Independence of Adults with Disabilities has released Collaborating and Coordinating with Employers, a brief that illustrates key research findings, outlines existing strategies and practices that are advancing the concept of disability and business collaboration, and provides resources that further illuminate effective strategies and examples of these collaborations.

As part of Research on Program Management Techniques by States to Rebalance their Long Term Care Systems, Final Case Studies were conducted in each State for the time period ending December 2007. These Case Studies focus particularly on the reflections of State government officials on rebalancing goals, accomplishments, and next steps as they reflect on all the State’s experiences in moving towards more community-based services.