Reports

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.

This issue brief summarizes and shares quantitative and qualitative findings from the Aging and Disability Information and Referral/Assistance Technology Short Survey to inform understanding of key technology developments and highlight approaches that may be useful in the current situation or in future disaster situations. This survey, administered by ADvancing States’ National Information and Referral Support Center in 2021, gathered data in several key areas including service modality and call volume; social media; the resource database; Information Technology systems; remote work; and new technologies for staff and client engagement.

The National Aging and Disability Transportation Center released the report of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Transportation Survey, which documents the needs and experiences of older adults, adults with disabilities and caregivers from historically marginalized and underserved communities.

This report analyzes the health care access, health-related behaviors, and health conditions among older adults living in rural areas. The report reveals health disparities among rural older adults who are members of racial and ethnic minorities. The report also reveals disparities in prevalence of serious health conditions and health care access between urban and rural older adults.