Policy alerts, briefs, letters & papers

This letter from several Congress members from the state of Ohio to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services expresses concern for the January 10, 2014, rule from CMS that amends regulation of the type of settings in which states can use federal Medicaid funds to pay for home and community based services. The members detail concern that the rule could inhibit the availability of specific residential settings.

As almost half of the States have implemented MLTSS programs, community-based organizations, will be significantly impacted. At the 2013 HCBS conference, ADvancing States, with support from the SCAN Foundation, held a day-long intensive to discuss these impacts. This report outlines 5 discrete roles that CBOs are well-suited to play in MLTSS programs using as a reference point CMS’ 2013 guidance on MLTSS program design and implementation. To request a hard copy version, email Ali Diaz at adiaz@advancingstates.org.

The lack of recognized standards for what constitutes sufficient monitoring has hindered efforts to assess the effectiveness of state oversight of managed care plans. This brief describes an approach used to evaluate state oversight of a new Medicaid managed care program for individuals with disabilities in Washington. The approach evaluates both the type and vigor of monitoring activities by the state and the degree to which the state's activities achieved their desired program outcomes.

Recent interest among policymakers in helping Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries return to work has increased the desire for knowledge about the employment activities of people with disabilities before they apply for benefits. This brief summarizes results from a working paper, conducted through the Social Security Administration's Disability Research Consortium, on the experiences of SSDI applicants before they apply for SSDI.

In this issue brief, the authors explore the provisions of the Affordable Care Act that may enable Americans with mental illness to obtain the mental health treatment and support services they need to continue working or get back to work.

Access to affordable health insurance is essential to the ability of people with disabilities to seek and maintain employment. As their income fluctuates, people may migrate between Medicaid and Marketplace coverage, and they may face changes in their benefits and out-of-pocket responsibilities as a consequence. This issue brief uses hypothetical examples of working people with disabilities to illustrate the experiences they might have with Medicaid and Marketplace coverage in four states.

In this brief, the authors summarize key features of the Social Security Disability Insurance program and describe some of the salient issues policymakers will need to consider to address the projected depletion of the SSDI Trust Fund in 2016. They also discuss the eligibility criteria for the program, benefit levels, and beneficiaries' ability to work.