Fact Sheets

The National Council on Aging (NCOA)’s article “Your Mental Health This Holiday and Beyond: 4 Steps to Combat Loneliness in Seniors” notes that loneliness among older adults can be difficult during the holidays, especially for individuals who live alone. The U.S. Census estimates that as many as 27% of adults age 65 and older lived alone in 2020; however, a person may experience loneliness even if they live with other people. Loneliness can affect anyone who doesn’t feel meaningful connections with others. NCOA’s article shares four tips for staying connected with loved ones during this holiday season, including prioritizing communication, facilitating social activities through local organizations...

Justice in Aging has released a fact sheet focusing on Medicaid-funded assisted living facilities and their compliance with federal laws. This resource equips residents and their representatives with advocacy tools to ensure facilities follow the law and treat residents appropriately. Although this guide focuses on assisted living, the relevant federal laws cover any similar residential setting reimbursed through Medicaid HCBS. Accordingly, this guide’s advice generally applies also to HCBS-funded facilities for persons with disabilities, such as group homes and adult residential facilities...

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently shared information on national health expenditures in 2022, highlighting a 4.1% growth in U.S. health care spending to $4.5 trillion. This growth, while faster than the increase of 3.2% in 2021, was notably slower than the substantial increase of 10.6% witnessed in 2020. CMS noted the growth in 2022 reflected strong growth in Medicaid and private health insurance spending that was somewhat offset by continued declines in supplemental funding by the federal government associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The fact sheet also notes that in 2022, the insured share of the population reached a historic high of 92%...

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released revised guidance detailing key requirements and procedures for calculating rebates and invoicing manufacturers that owe rebates to Medicare under the Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program for certain drugs covered under Medicare Part B and Part D. CMS also released the list of 48 prescription drugs for which Part B beneficiary coinsurances may be lower between January 1, 2024 and March 31, 2024. Some people with Medicare who take these drugs may save between $1 and $2,786 per average dose starting January 1, 2024, depending on their individual coverage.

A recently published fact sheet from the National Consumer Voice for Long-Term Quality Care offers guidance for visiting residents in long-term care facilities during the holiday season. This fact sheet outlines the importance of visits from family members in supporting residents’ emotional well-being and ensuring that residents receive quality care. It also emphasizes the rights of residents and family members to determine what visits involve and when they take place. Additionally, Consumer Voice provides practical tips and activity ideas for family visits, along with suggestions for engaging residents during the gift-giving season, including examples of suitable gifts for residents.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a fact sheet titled “Health Coverage Options for American Indians and Alaska Natives.” This fact sheet provides information and guidance that Navigators and certified application counselors (collectively, assisters) need to know in order to help American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) understand health coverage options through the Marketplace, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)....

In a recently published press release, the White House announced new actions to promote competition in health care and support lowering prescription drug costs for American families, including the release of a proposed framework for agencies on the exercise of march-in rights on taxpayer-funded drugs and other inventions, which specifies that price can be a factor in considering whether a drug is accessible to the public. This press release details new action to support lowering prescription drug costs and increase Americans’ access to life-saving medications, efforts to stop anticompetitive mergers and anticompetitive practices by dominant corporations in health care markets, and ...

The Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) has released a fact sheet detailing the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ caregivers when navigating health and human services systems. The fact sheet offers policy recommendations centered on inclusive language, intersectional approaches, comprehensive data collection regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, and strategies to address ageism, ableism, homophobia, and transphobia in caregiving settings. The fact sheet also emphasizes the need for stakeholders to collaborate with community leaders in order to better understand the needs, barriers, and existing strengths of LGBTQ+ caregivers.

Adult Protective Services (APS) programs promote the safety, independence, and quality-of-life for vulnerable adults who are, or are in danger of, being abused, neglected by self or others, or financially exploited, and who are unable to protect themselves. APS is a social service program authorized by law in every state to receive and investigate reports of elder or vulnerable adult maltreatment and to intervene to protect the victims to the extent possible. Section topics in this fact sheet include: What is APS?; Reporting Elder/Vulnerable Adult Abuse; What does APS Do?; Client Protections; and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

On November 15, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule that will implement portions of section 6101 of the Affordable Care Act, requiring the disclosure of certain ownership, managerial, and other information regarding Medicare skilled nursing facilities and Medicaid nursing facilities, commonly known as nursing homes. It also defines the terms private equity company and real estate investment trust, about which information must be disclosed on the Medicare enrollment application. Section 6101(a) of the Affordable Care Act added section 1124(c) to the Social Security Act, establishing requirements for the disclosure of information about nursing home ownership and oversight...