Policy alerts, briefs, letters & papers

This fact sheet offers guidance on Short-Term Case Management (STCM) using both the vision offered by AoA and CMS and the experience in Wisconsin which has operated an ADRC for six years. STCM is an integral part of an ADRC - to offer consumers information about and access to long-term supports and services in order to minimize confusion, enhance individual choice, and support informed decision-making. This fact sheet describes STCM as a philosophy of relationship development with individuals.

This issue brief describes the implications of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 for consumers, state Medicaid agencies, health care providers, and the public and private entities that provide benefits counseling and supports to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) made a number of significant changes to law that affects ADRCs, most notably, MMA established prescription drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries.

Older people living in rural areas face unique challenges, not only in accessing benefits and services, but also in gathering information about programs that can help them. This brief tackles the issue of information and assistance (I&A) in rural areas by profiling an area agency on aging that has successfully established an I&A program designed to meet the needs of rural elders. We offer tips from the agency’s experience and insight from experts in the field.

Getting consumers to serve on your board can be difficult. Getting consumers who are knowledgeable about serving on boards can be even more difficult. However, including at the table those who are most impacted by your services and decisions is a great opportunity with valuable benefits.This article appeared in an issue brief from the Center for Medicare Education.

This article raises concerns about the impact of Medicare Part D on persons with chronic illnesses or disabilities. The article looks at benefit design and implementation issues. The article appeared in Care Management Journals, Volume 5, Number 2. Summer 2004

This policy brief is one of five commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation on Medicaid eligibility policies for long-term care benefits. This brief describes the procedures used by the state of Massachusetts in the administration of its Medicaid Estate Recovery program, with a focus on the procedures used by the State in imposing Medicaid liens on real property.

This policy brief is one of five commissioned by the Dept of Health & Human Services, , and presents the fundamentals of Medicaid liens -- what they are, why they are permitted, and how they are applied by state Medicaid programs. Liens are a tool that states may use to ensure their right to recover past Medicaid spending on the property owner’s behalf when he or she, or certain close relatives, no longer needs the property.

This policy brief is one of five commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation on Medicaid eligibility policies for long-term care benefits. This brief outlines the Medicaid rules that affect community spouses of nursing home residents and widows or widowers of deceased nursing home residents.

This policy brief is one of five commissioned by the Dept of Health & Human Services, and provides an overview of state Medicaid Estate Recovery programs, which enable states to recoup public spending for Medicaid long-term care recipients from the estates of those recipients after their death.

This policy brief is one of five commissioned by the Dept of Health & Human Services and provides a synopsis of how the home is treated in determining Medicaid eligibility for recipients of long-term care services and the circumstances under which Medicaid may recover spending from equity held in real property. Broad flexibility is conferred on states to implement generic Federal Medicaid rules, resulting in considerable variations in how homes are treated in specific circumstances.