Data

A recent report from Long-Term Quality Alliance (LTQA) and the Community Living Policy Center (CLPC) at Brandeis University highlights recommendations to inform future research, policy, and practice that aim to advance efforts to improve standardized data collection and reporting, to better understand the impacts of direct-care workforce shortages, and to drive critical investments in the direct-care workforce. To inform this exploratory study, LTQA and CLPC conducted six focus groups and four key informant interviews with managed-LTSS health plans, home-care providers, self-direction experts, fiscal intermediaries, state-association representatives, and other policy experts and advocates...

KFF released an updated version of their "Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker" on May 10. This tracker provides state-level data on Medicaid/CHIP enrollment, unwinding, renewals, and other measures. Please note that while the tool includes national data reported by CMS, it has a lag of several months and may not reflect the most current Medicaid enrollment status.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued its “2023 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book,” providing aggregated information from last year on a full range of fraud, identity theft, and other consumer protection topics. The FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network is a database that receives reports directly from consumers, as well as from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, the Better Business Bureau, industry members, and non-profit organizations. More than 20 states contribute data to Sentinel. Sentinel received 5.4 million reports in 2023; these included fraud reports, as well as identity theft reports, and complaints related to other consumer issues, such as problems with credit bureaus, banks, and lenders...

AARP recently released the “National Inventory of Self‑Directed Long-Term Services and Supports Programs,” building upon the 2023 LTSS State Scorecard and previous inventories to provide an overview of all publicly funded self-directed Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) nationwide. This inventory includes estimates of numbers of participants, populations served, funding sources, and other key variables, and covers significant trends influencing the overall LTSS landscape, such as the well-documented national shortage of direct care workers. This marks the first report released since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, providing insight into the impact of the pandemic on self-direction programs...

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final national snapshot for the 2024 Marketplace Open Enrollment (OEP), reporting that 21.3 million consumers have signed up for 2024 individual market health insurance coverage through the Marketplaces since the start of the 2024 OEP on November 1. This includes 16.4 million Marketplace plan selections in the 32 states using the HealthCare.gov platform for the 2024 plan year through the end of the OEP on January 16, 2024 (Week 11+), and 4.9 million plan selections in the 18 states and the District of Columbia with State-based Marketplaces (SBMs) that are using their own eligibility and enrollment platforms, through January 13, 2024 (Week 11) or the end of their OEP...

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) recently released the 2023 edition of their “MACStats: Medicaid and CHIP Data Book,” which presents the most current data available on Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). These programs provide a safety net for low-income populations who otherwise would not have access to health care coverage and cover services other payers often do not. This data book compiles the broad range of Medicaid and CHIP statistics that MACPAC regularly updates on macpac.gov into a single, end-of-year publication. MACPAC’s purpose is to bring together in one place federal and state data on Medicaid and CHIP that come from multiple data sources...

On December 13, KFF released a snapshot analyzing the different types of coverage that people with Medicare have and the demographic characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries with these different coverage types, based on data from the 2021 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS). This snapshot of coverage highlights that roughly half of all beneficiaries are enrolled in traditional Medicare and about half are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, such as an HMO or PPO. Among beneficiaries in traditional Medicare, most have some type of additional coverage that helps limit their exposure to Medicare’s cost-sharing requirements.

On January 31, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. As of October 2023, over 66.6 million people are enrolled in Medicare; more than 34 million are enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare, and close to 32.6 million are enrolled in Medicare Advantage or other health plans. Over 87.2 million enrollees have Medicaid and CHIP. More than 80.2 million individuals have Medicaid and over 7 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.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) recently released a comprehensive report addressing the escalating issue of homelessness among older adults, a demographic experiencing a rapid increase in homelessness over recent years. This report gives an overview of the population of older adults at risk of or experiencing homelessness and what services and supports are available to serve them. The report also examines these topics with attention to what is known about racial and ethnic groups disproportionately impacted by homelessness. In addition, the report highlights the challenges older adults encounter in accessing available assistance while also spotlighting innovative practices, especially those implement

On November 21, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the first Biweekly National Snapshot for 2024 Marketplace Open Enrollment Data. CMS reports that nearly 4.6 million Americans have signed up for 2024 individual market health insurance coverage through the Marketplaces since the start of the 2024 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period (OEP) on November 1. This includes 4.1 million plan selections in the 32 states using the HealthCare.gov platform for the 2024 plan year, through November 18, 2023 (Week 3), and 502,000 plan selections in the 17 states and the District of Columbia with State-based Marketplaces (SBMs) that are using their own eligibility and enrollment platforms, through November 11, 2023 (Week 2)...