Reports

This report examines Minnesota's home care workforce and highlights trends in the broader sector. The report offers recommendations, including interventions that "elevate the role of the aide," and calls for better wages, higher reimbursement rates in state funding, and improved training, as well as approaches tailored to rural areas, such as new technologies in home care and transportation-related supports.

This report examines opportunities for the Aging Network to expand partnerships with health care organizations and other entities through focusing on the value of investing in information technology (IT). This report also focuses on a federal funding opportunity and the experiences of three AAAs that are actively seeking to build out IT in the context of contracts with an expanding number of health care organizations and other entities through focusing on the value of investing in information.

This paper provides concrete examples of how seven No Wrong Door Systems are promoting person- and family-centered practice. This resource includes a toolkit of resources and contacts for states to learn more and replicate these practices. A checklist also provides a roadmap for states to ensure that No Wrong Door Systems operate in a person- and family-centered way.

The National Coalition on Mental Health & Aging (NCMHA) has released a report on integrating older adult behavioral health into long-term care rebalancing. The report includes opportunities and recommendations for for funders such as public health agencies and managed care organizations (MCOs). The report notes that close to 50 percent of persons receiving long-term care have a mental disorder other than dementia.

The Alzheimer's Association has released a report that offers insights into the burden of Alzheimer's disease. Currently, total costs of care for individuals with Alzheimer's and other dementias reached $259 billion this year. This, coupled with the fact that the number of Americans passing away from Alzheimer's is anticipated to double by the year 2050, means that an increasing amount of health care dollars will be used to pay for care for these individuals.

In 2016, the Diverse Elders Coalition partnered with Caring Across Generations to collect nearly 5,000 comments from our communities about what individuals need to age with health and dignity. Comments were collected in six languages from all 50 states and provided a snapshot of the challenges of aging in communities of color, LGBT communities, and American Indian/Alaska Native communities. These comments were synthesized into a series of recommendations for policymakers and service providers.

On February 8th, the Government Accountability Office publicly released a report on Medicaid managed care and Long-term Services and Supports. The report examined MLTSS program goals, payment structures, financial incentives for plans, and federal monitoring programs. The report makes several recommendations for CMS.

On February 13th, the Government Accountability Office publicly released a report on Medicaid personal care services. In the study, GAO examined the data available regarding personal care services and its effectiveness for program monitoring. GAO makes four key recommendations for CMS to improve data regarding personal care services.

Meals on Wheels of America released a new report, funded by the AARP and Caesars Foundations, titled Hunger in Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for the Aging Network. This first-of-its-kind resource explores a variety of available food assistance programs that can be used in combination to more effectively address the needs of seniors in your community.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released their monthly report for November 2016 on Medicaid and CHIP application, eligibility determination, and enrollment data. States provide data to CMS on factors related to key application, eligibility, and enrollment processes using the Medicaid and CHIP Performance Indicator Project. The data is then used to inform CMS on the operations of the programs in each state and to share state performance data publicly.