Data

Explore preliminary results for this demonstration to test whether earlier access to health care and related services to SSDI beneficiaries would lead to improved health, increased employment and reduced reliance on SSDI benefits. The brief describes the sample selected and the impacts on health care use and unmet medical needs. Findings indicate the intervention increased the use of health care services and reduced the reported unmet health care needs of the participants.

Find an estimate for the US of the costs over the next 20 years of providing public transportation to the advancing wave of older adults looking to maintain their independence. Investments recommended to address needs included more bus operator training and consideration of older adults’ needs in route planning and placement of transit stops. Capital enhancements include more low-floor and kneeling buses, improved interior circulation, additional grab bars and other accessibility features.

Review an analysis of the size and characteristics of the PAS workforce during the period 2005-07. Data is available by state and nationwide and is based on a three-year combined sample of data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Data include gender, age, ethnicity, birthplace, income, and type of employment.

Review an early assessment of the balance of state LTC systems before the implementation of the MFP demonstration. The authors’ goal was to develop a baseline against which the impacts could be measured as the program matures and evolves. This baseline information is used to identify key differences in the makeup of states’ LTC systems, and the observations suggest that the impacts of the program are likely to differ across states.

Review the results of a survey of the nationwide network of Area Agencies on Aging on their knowledge and opinions about senior transportation. The report provides baseline information about AAAs’ involvement in transportation advocacy, planning and service delivery, as well as information about the availability of senior transportation nationwide. The document is the first in a series of reports to be developed focusing on current challenges and new developments that impact senior mobility.

Learn about the status of the public LTC delivery system, and opportunities and obstacles for LTSS reform and rebalancing. The study surveys states’ current HCBS expenditures and utilization, analyzes factors underpinning Medicaid’s institutional bias, looks at federal and state initiatives to improve the ratio between institutional and community-based care, and points to statutory and regulatory “fixes” that could enhance the states’ ability to improve their LTC delivery systems.

To inform long-term care reform efforts, a web-based survey of over 1,000 LTC specialists nationwide was conducted. Findings included the need for LTC to be rebalanced toward HCBS settings, though few supported doing so by limiting nursing home bed supply. Although virtually all felt that the federal government was doing a poor job regulating LTC providers, most believed that the approaches used to oversee nursing homes should also be applied to assisted living.

Fourth and final in a series that explores the cross-payer effects of providing Medicaid long-term supports and services on Medicare acute care resource use, this report provides a summary of the initial work of a study, described more fully in the first three reports, with an emphasis on lessons that state Medicaid administrators should consider as they move toward more formal programs of integrated care for persons dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.

Statistics for how many people on the Social Security disability rolls return to work published by the SSA each year are based on the behavior of beneficiaries over a short period. Longer-term statistics offer “good news” in that, compared to the short-term statistics, they show more beneficiaries leaving the rolls after finding work. They also show that some beneficiaries who return to work but don’t leave the rolls could become more self sufficient if better work incentives were in place.

Many obstacles impede states from rebalancing their long-term supports and services (LTSS) programs toward greater emphasis on HCBS alternatives. This brief outlines policy recommendations for reforming the Medicaid-funded LTSS system to support more cost-effective and consumer-oriented long-term care options. The authors discuss the current LTC environment, barriers and promising solutions to rebalancing LTSS, and policy recommendations for improving the Medicaid LTSS system.