Policy alerts, briefs, letters & papers

This brief from the Integrated Care Resource Center discusses opportunities for Medicaid agencies to partner with State Health Insurance Programs (SHIPs). Every state has a SHIP that is responsible for providing counseling and assistance for people with Medicare and their families. This brief highlights approaches used by Arizona, Massachusetts, and Texas, where SHIPs and Medicaid agencies have worked together to educate Medicare-Medicaid enrollees on new care delivery options.

AARP has released an update from their Public Policy Livable Communities division, which explains that communities need to encourage more accessible homes for older adults and their families by requiring that single family homes meet visitability requirements with features such as having an entrance without steps, kitchen counters set at multiple heights, and half-bathrooms at the ground level.

Value-Based Payment (VBP) are alternative payment models that reward high-quality, cost-effective care. While many Medicaid state programs are developing VBP systems for physical health services, they have not made such advances in Medicaid behavioral health care services. The Center for Health Care Strategies’ (CHCS) brief, produced with the California Health Care Foundation, details how five states are innovating their Medicaid managed care organizations through VBP models.

This issue brief that looks at the difference in financial outcomes for workers who received Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) and those who did not receive DI before claiming Old Age and Survivors’ Insurance (OASI) benefits (often referred to as Social Security retirement benefits).

This brief, a product of the Complex Care Innovation Lab made possible by Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit, outlines the current state of Medicaid NEMT services, its challenges, and opportunities for improvement. It explores alternative transportation models piloted by states and health plans across the country, including the use of transportation network companies, such as Uber and Lyft, to augment NEMT services.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has released data regarding emergency department visits for injury and illness among adults aged 65 and over in the United States, covering the years 2012–2013. Key findings included a visit rate of 12 per 100 persons for injury and 36 per 100 persons for illness.

ADvancing States released a document summarizing the major components of the ACA that impact the provision of long-term services and supports (LTSS) to older adults and people with disabilities. These provisions may not be impacted by a repeal of the ACA, but some proposals include restriction or elimination of programs that provide these services and supports.

The Center for Health Care Strategies, with funding from DentaQuest Foundation, published a technical assistance brief that provides a framework to improve social determinants that affect oral health in the community.

This new brief, made possible by The Commonwealth Fund and The SCAN Foundation, highlights insights from states that are fine-tuning their integrated care programs. Formal evaluations of some integrated care programs are underway; however, until these results become available, the refinements made by states described in the brief -- all participants in the Implementing New Systems of Integration for Dually Eligible Enrollees (INSIDE) project.

Mathematica Policy Research released an issue brief, published by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, that examines different employment strategies for low-income individuals. The Employment Strategies for Low-Income Adults Evidence Review (ESER) was used to evaluate employment and training interviews for this population.