Promising practices

The aging population is increasing, which means that more Medicare beneficiaries, especially those 75 and older, have considerable morbidity, diminished quality of life, and a high degree of caregiver burden. The increase of medically complex Medicare beneficiaries has created a need for developing core measures for tracking and improving the quality of care this population receives. This article discusses how to leverage Medicare Advantage to support diverse older patients, a different framework to improve quality in Medicare, and the development of a care set of measures for age-friendly care.

This promising practice profile describes the Rhode Island No Wrong Door system including key partners, the state’s long-term services and supports interagency reform initiative, and the state’s approach to person-centered options counseling. The profile includes links to important resources such as the state’s Person-Centered Options Counseling Operational Manual and the No Wrong Door System Strategic Plan.

The Center for Health Care Strategies released an article on the advancement of equitable practices and explores advancing integrated models for further inclusion of all populations in service delivery. The article explores best practices from Hill Country Health and Wellness Center in rural northern California as they work towards greater implementation of equitable practices.

Elder financial exploitation threatens the financial security of millions of older Americans annually. CFPB has released updated resources for elder fraud prevention and response networks, including a report on the network collaboration and a streamlined virtual Network Development Guide.

The Centers for Excellence in Assisted Living has just released a paper exploring the strengths and opportunities of improving of assisted living facilities across the country. The article explores the unique challenges posed to assisted living facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and provides policy recommendations research on staff vaccine requirements, state-level reporting, and more.

CMS is inviting states to participate in a Medicaid learning collaborative. The learning collaborative is an opportunity for states to develop new solutions and identify promising practices to improve the delivery of supports and services for people with I/DD and their aging caregivers. The collaborative will consist of six monthly virtual learning sessions between November 2021 and April 2022.

This guide synthesizes the findings of a series of NGA Center for Best Practices action labs focused on state policies to increase disability employment. During the labs, state teams developed plans to better coordinate services to support workers with disabilities. This resulting document provides best practices on state policies and actions to improve employment opportunities and outcomes for people with disabilities.

Funded by ACL, this resource library collects digital materials from the Older Adults' Equity Collaborative member organizations to provide tools and guidance to the aging services network, providers, older adults and family caregivers. The resources included cover topics of social isolation and mental health, Alzheimer's and Dementia, disabilities, caregiving, retirement income and security, and emergency planning.

Value-based payment (VBP), provider payment models that shift from volume-based fee-for-service to support value-driven care delivery, is an important strategy for states seeking to promote innovative primary care approaches through Medicaid managed care. This blog post highlights opportunities for states to implement payment models that support primary care providers in offering more comprehensive care, such as through integrating physical and behavioral health care.

To honor May as Older Americans Month and prepare for World Elder Abuse day on June 15, 2021, CFPB has released a series of free resources to support financial caregivers and inform older Americans about their options.