Reports

GAO recently published a report to examine how other countries provide support to family caregivers, challenges present in these approaches, and the development of HHS’ national family caregiving strategy. GAO researched caregiver policies from Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom, which focused on employment flexibility, income support, and pension credits for family caregivers.

The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) recently released a report with the results of a survey of caregivers nationwide. RCI surveyed caregivers through its partner network and 422 provided responses in the summer of 2020. The study sought to explore the direct experience of caregiver stress since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey includes data on financial stressors, medical stressors, isolation, and other factors affecting caregiver stress in the pandemic.

The GAO released a report on the impacts of the 2013 regulation that revised the domestic service employment and companionship services under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This rule, which became effective in 2015, had the effect of extending minimum wage and overtime protections to a broader range of home care workers, many of whom provide Medicaid-funded home and community based services (HCBS).

CHCS and Speire Healthcare Strategies released a report about COVID-19 response efforts from states and health plans that offer integrated care programs for duals. People who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid are among the nation’s most vulnerable to the coronavirus. The report outlines opportunities to support integration and identifies opportunities to strengthen programs and policies to best support the dual eligible population during the pandemic and in the future.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, health risks and financial burdens for certain at-risk populations can make access to food challenging. This issue brief explores the adjustments that states have made to nutrition programs. The brief highlights examples of opportunities available and changes that states have made to ensure older adults and persons with disabilities have access to food during the pandemic. Data and findings are drawn from the ADvancing States 2020 COVID-19 Membership Survey.

NCOA and Health Management Associates (HMA) have released a new report detailing eight strategies and approaches to expand funding for evidence-based health programs. NCOA and HMA reviewed five states and one city- California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, New York City, and Washington- with community-based organizations that have strong partnerships with Medicaid agencies and managed-care organizations.

In support of technical assistance to Idaho, the NCAPPS team prepared a Person-Centered Planning Facilitation Report which explores the experience of states that have specifically included plan facilitators in their HCBS waivers – including the circumstance under which the states deploy plan facilitators, the rates paid to facilitators, and the training requirements.

ACL released a report of data collected by the National Adult Maltreatment Reporting System. This report details the finding from the fourth year (2019) of data collected by NAMRS. NAMRS is the only comprehensive national initiative compiling data on the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older adults and adults with disabilities as reported to adult protective services. Data collected by NAMRS include quantitative and qualitative responses on many areas within adult protective services.

This issue brief from the MLTSS Institute focuses on aspects of delivering effective care to individuals eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid (dually eligible individuals).The brief provides a primer on the ways that Medicare data can help states better deliver care to dually eligible individuals; it also details information about data sources and other resources available to help obtain and analyze Medicare data.

Altarum recently published a special report highlighting the impact COVID-19 restrictions has had on nursing home residents. The report is the result of a survey that directly polled residents about their pandemic experience in 365 nursing homes in 36 states.