Policy alerts, briefs, letters & papers

This policy brief provides information on Washington, DC and the 37 states that are planning to better integrate care for participants who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. The Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) will allow states to select a capitated model, or a managed fee-for-service model, or they can use both models. Included is a chart explaining the main differences between the two models.

Developing home & community-based service (HCBS) alternatives to institutional care has been a priority for many state Medicaid programs over the last three decades. While the majority of Medicaid long-term care dollars still go toward institutional care, the national percentage of Medicaid spending on HCBS has more than doubled from 19% in 1995 to 43% in 2008. More than 3 million people were served by Medicaid HCBS programs in 2008 and hundreds of thousands of people are on waiting lists.

A new technical assistance brief from the Center for Health Care Strategies provides a brief outline of the Money Follows the Person, Balanced Incentives Payment Program, the Community First Choice Option, and the modified Home and Community-Based State Plan option. For each program, the authors outline the budget impact/FMAP opportunity, application process, participant eligibility, care coordination/plans, and data reporting/evaluation.

The MO HealthNet Division administers the MFP program called My Life, My Way, My Community. This site is an example of how this state presents material to the community about the program. See samples of the Initial Application, Operational Protocol, Brochure and Participation Agreement.

This policy brief is part of Center for Health Care Strategies’ Technical Assistance for Dual Eligible Integrated Care Demonstrations program, made possible through The SCAN Foundation and The Commonwealth Fund. Through this program, CHCS is helping demonstration states develop and implement integrated-care models for individuals eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid services.

Using six states as examples, this report illustrates how the DD Network partners, working with each other and in collaboration with state developmental disability agencies and others, have positively affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities - assuring their rightful place as full community members through advocacy, research, training, and programs that directly support individuals and families.

Two reports look at costs, services, characteristics, and impacts of the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance program, which aims to inform beneficiaries with disabilities about work incentive programs, help them increase employment, and reduce their dependence on benefits. The program is serving a select group of beneficiaries who are actively working, seeking employment, using the SSA work incentive provisions, and leaving the disability rolls at relatively high rates.

Research from Mathematica's disability experts offers findings on programs to help move people with disabilities off the beneficiary rolls & into employment. As part of the 7-year evaluation of the Ticket to Work program, a recent report looks at the experiences of employment service providers after the Social Security Administration revised regulations to address challenges in the original program. The SSA successfully educated providers about revised regulations & instituted related supports.

Examine new state-by-state estimates of public and private health spending from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), published in the online journal, Medicare and Medicaid Research Review. Also available, a webcast with an expert panel offering perspectives on the trends within and across states, as well as the outlook for policy efforts to control costs, including provisions of the Affordable Care Act and various state initiatives.

This Guide highlights key disability concerns to officials and experts responsible for emergency planning in their communities. It seeks to assist them in developing plans that will take into account the needs and insights of people with disabilities before, during, and after emergencies. It also is designed to help emergency managers, planners, and responders make the best use of resources in the emergency preparedness planning process.