Newsletter, periodic publication

This March 2022 News in Health issue explores various components of rural health in America. The issue explains how geography, access to care, and telehealth impact health outcomes for individuals in living in rural areas, and provides tips for how to build healthier communities.

The peer-reviewed healthcare journal, Health Affairs, has dedicated its February issue to the topic of racism and health. Google and Twitter have flagged racism as "sensitive content" and are blocking Health Affairs' paid media advertisements to promote the content. This article by Becker's Hospital Review discusses censorship of racial and ethnic issues and explains why sharing facts about health disaparites is important on these digital platforms.

Many states are directing focus toward achieving racial health equity as a key priority within their Medicaid programs and managed care contracts. This blog post discusses the importance of equitable access to high-quality and comprehensive primary care and the structural and interpersonal racism that creates barriers within health systems. The post explores how states can advance more equitable primary care by building on the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) framework.

In this blog post, Nancy Archibald, MHA, MBA, Associate Director of Integrated Care at CHCS, describes the state of Indiana's plan to launch Medicaid managed long-term services and supports in 2024. The state is receiving grant funding through Advancing Medicare & Medicaid Integration, an Arnold Ventures initiative developed in partnership with CHCS that assists states in filling resource gaps in designing and launching integrated care programs.

This blog post from the Better Care Playbook discusses Medicare Advantage (MA) plans that support family caregivers, specifically hightlighing UCare in Minnesota and UPMC Health Plan in Pennsylvania. The blog post explains the importance of supporting caregivers and explores the considerations around offering caregiver support as a supplemental benefit.

This blog post by Keri Lipperini, ACL's Director of the Office of Nutrition and Health Promotion Programs, discusses how social isolation during COVID-19 has affected the health and wellbeing of older adults. The post also highlights ACL programs that are targeting this issue, including PEARLS, Healthy IDEAS, and BRITE, which are three evidence-based programs that aim to reduce the risk of suicide by tackling depression and substance abuse among older adults.

CHCS senior program officer, Diana Crumley, JD, MPAff, has helped state Medicaid agencies, health plans, and community-based organizations think through issues regarding health-related social needs and social care integration over the last four years. This blog post outlines four lessons from her experience supporting health care stakeholders address health-related social needs and health inequities, while focusing on advanced primary care and Medicaid managed care.

ACL’s Administration on Aging funds “Innovations in Nutrition” grants to support the quality, effectiveness, and outcomes of the nutrition programs funded through the Older Americans Act. The nutrition programs work to reduce food insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition; enhance socialization; and promote the health and well-being of older adults. This guest blog post features Innovations in Nutrition grantees as they describe how one project is helping build capacity within the aging network.

As HHS commemorates the anniversary of the ADA, the Office of Behavioral Health, Disability, and Aging Policy (BHDAP) is working to advance data capacity to generate evidence to implement policies, programs, and practices that promote inclusion and participation of individuals with disabilities in society. This blog post introduces the BHDAP's project, Dataset on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, which builds data capacity for person-centered outcomes research for people with ID/DD.

The Florida Department of Elder Affairs released their August 2021 newsletter highlighting Miami-Dade County's Age-Friendly Initaitive. The county's Age-Friendly Initiative was launched in 2012 and has grown into a collaborative network of individuals, stakeholders, and organizations working together to bring housing, transportation, employment and health services to their older adult population.