Reports

The National Task Group for Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices and the LuMind IDSC Foundation have published a new report exploring the barriers to determining mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in adults with neuroatypical conditions, such as brain injury, autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, intellectual disabilities, mental illness, and significant sensory impairments. The report is base on a project that was designed to help with furthering diagnostic equity for adults with these conditions and educate clinicians about the differences between these conditions in the dementia detection and assessment process.

The National Alliance for Caregiving has published a 2021 national report, "Caregiving in a Diverse America: Beginning to Understand the Systemic Challenges Facing Family Caregivers," which was based on results of the Caregiving in the U.S. 2020 study. The report analyzes the experience of over 800 caregiver respondents of different socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, and gender. The report also includes additional literature on diverse caregiving and research recommendations.

On January 12, 2022, CMS released the Medicaid LTSS Annual Expenditures Report for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2019. This report discusses the LTSS rebalancing trends and growth in expenditures for home and community-based services as compared to institutional spending during the time period reviewed.

The CMS Office of Minority Health (OMH) has published a new report, Trends in Racial, Ethnic, Sex, and Rural-Urban Inequities in Health Care in Medicare Advantage: 2009-2018. Since 2015, CMS OMH has published annual reports highlighting inequities in the quality of care delivered to Medicare beneficiaries nationwide. Until now, these reports have focused on comparisons within a single year. This new report analyzes historical trends in inequities by race, ethnicity, sex, and geography among Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans nationwide.

On December 16, 2021 ATI Advisory released a report titled Modernizing California’s Health Insurance Counseling & Advocacy Program (HICAP): Strategy Recommendations. HICAP is the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) in the state of California, which is run by the California Department of Aging (CDA).

This report finds U.S. health care spending increased rapidly in response to the pandemic. This was primarily driven by increased federal spending, including financial assistance to providers to make up for lost revenue through the Provider Relief Fund and the Paycheck Protection Program, and increased federal public health spending including spending for vaccine development, COVID testing, and health facility preparedness. As a result, growth in federal government spending on health care has increased by 36% in 2020.

ADvancing States hopes that this report will provide additional evidence of the value of MLTSS programs, stimulate thoughtful policy development and program design, and promote high performing state systems that provide care for older adults and persons with disabilities.

ACL recently published a new report sharing new information and insights on Older Americans Act (OAA) services, reveals major OAA milestones, and key information on the impact and necessity of services for older adults. This report includes highlights from OAA Title III programs in 2018.

The Research & Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities has released a report on the effects of social isolation and loneliness have on people with disabilities living in rural and urban areas. Findings from the research report include: -People with disabilities report more than double the rates of social isolation and loneliness than people without disabilities -Rural people with disabilities report significantly fewer social connections but similar rates of loneliness compared to urban people with disabilities -Structural barriers related to employment and transportation may play a role in social isolation and loneliness disparities among people with disabilities

With older populations growing faster in rural areas than urban areas, new research focuses on health care access, health-related behaviors, and health conditions among rural versus urban older adults, and on racial and ethnic disparities within each group. Adults ages 50 and older living in rural areas are more likely to forgo medical care due to cost than those living in urban areas. Additionally, Black and Hispanic older adults living in rural areas are much more likely than their White counterparts to skip medical care due to cost.