Policy alerts, briefs, letters & papers

This report highlights elder justice legislation from February to August 2018. The legislation referenced in the report was elicited using NCEA's Listserv as well as independent websites. This particular edition compiles updates from twenty-one states and also includes policy news at the national level.

This technical assistance brief outlines the specifics of Medicaid accountable care organizations' (ACOs') data needs and explores how states can effectively provide data to organizations participating in ACOs. The brief breaks down data support into three categories: Patient Attribution, Cost and Quality Performance, and Care Management Information. It also discusses various lessons and challenges with data support, including time lag, provider readiness, and regulations in conflict.

American Job Centers (AJCs) serve as destinations for people in search of career counseling, job connections, and employment-related services. This brief examines actions that (AJC) staff can take to make their services more accessible to autistic people and others with psychosocial, cognitive, intellectual, and developmental disabilities (DD). It outlines six specific recommendations for AJCs to promote equal opportunity and increase access for job seekers.

This issue brief summarizes the current evidence surrounding the effects of Medicaid expansion on coverage, access, affordability, health outcomes, and economic indicators. The paper draws primarily from evidence examined in 202 studies reviewed in a previous KFF literature review on this subject.

This report describes key considerations and policy decisions that states should consider as they work to implement EVV systems in accordance with the mandate included in the 21st Century Cures Act. The paper also examines different approaches that states may wish to use to establish EVV within their HCBS programs, and discusses some of the benefits and challenges associated with each approach. Lastly, it includes case studies of four states with existing EVV systems.

This brief and interactive map from the Kaiser Family Foundation provide the latest national and state-level estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau of the share of people ages 65 and older who are living in poverty. These resources explore the poverty rate among seniors under the official poverty measure and the Supplemental Poverty Measure.

This brief from the Center for Health Care Strategies discusses how accountable care organizations (ACOs) have become increasingly prevalent in the United States. This brief highlights the results of Medicaid ACO programs across the country to date, as well as key themes and lessons from these early adopters. It also examines how Medicaid ACO programs have evolved over time.

To understand both the needs of people who use long-term services and supports (LTSS) through Medicare and Medicaid coverage and ways to apply quality measurement to this population, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), supported by The SCAN Foundation, developed a roadmap for evaluating the quality of integrated care for dual eligibles.

This issue brief reviews the structure of the prescription drug benefit in Medicaid and the traditional policy levers states have used to control drug spending. It also describes state strategies to contain costs, such as efforts to obtain greater rebates, actions concerning generic drugs and biosimilar alternatives, transparency laws and new efforts to draw on federal resources.

Older adults are affected by the opioid public health emergency because they often use prescription opioids to cope with painful chronic conditions or procedures. This issue briefing provides a summary about the problem, treatments, federal strategies to address the crisis, and funding and programs that are addressing this issue. The briefing also highlights innovative programs to address the opioid public health emergency in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and New Hampshire.