Reports

This year, the Older Americans Act (OAA) celebrates its 50th year—a golden jubilee for seniors and communities across the country. For this occasion, ADvancing States and Altarum Institute’s Center for Elder Care and Advanced Illness (CECAI) honor outstanding older adults who both volunteer for and benefit from the law’s programs. This booklet highlights the myriad ways that seniors make the United States a great place in which to live, work, and grow old. Email adiaz@advancingstates.org for a hard copy.

The results of the annual survey represent a snapshot of the current status of state government employees, the agencies that administer the programs, and the services that are provided. The 2015 survey revealed that states are continuing to address the same underlying challenges discussed in the previous reports.The report also includes summary tables that outline specific information about each individual state agency and LTSS program. Email adiaz@advancingstates.org to request a hard copy version.

To mark the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) and the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) released a memo and report on the status of community living over the past 50 years. The report uses these findings to offer recommendations for improvement of services, access, opportunity, and support for for the next 25 years.

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on July 30, 2015, addressing key issues in Medicaid and the compilation of previous recommendations the office has made to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The recommendations fall within four overarching areas of access to care, transparency and oversight, program integrity, and federal financing approach.

The Federal Transit Administration released a report that examines the accessibility, cost efficiency, and effectiveness of public transit for passengers with disabilities. The report provides an assessment of public transit and offers suggestions for improvements that align with the Americans with Disabilities Act standards. This report uses 12 case studies to analyze the state of current paratransit practices and highlight the most successful models.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report has released new data on prevalence of disability and disability type, from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a state-based health survey. This includes data by state, and data by disability type that is based on functional categories. The main finding showed that "1 in 5 adults or over 53 million" Americans live with a disability.

In honor of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), this annual report focuses on how the ADA and other federal legislation has been implemented by five different state and local agencies. The report examines employment, education, health care, transportation, and housing to demonstrate the importance of the federal legislation and disability advocates. The report also offers recommendations to inform policymakers on changes to be made in the future legislation.

The Medicare Board of Trustees released their annual report to Congress on the financial operations and actuarial status of Medicare on July 22, 2015. The report included a projection indicating that the trust fund will remain solvent until 2030, which is 13 years longer than the 2009 prediction. Medicare covered 53.8 million people last year and the report provides a break down of the expenditures of each individual part of Medicare and its overall cost.

This is an annual report from United Cerebral Palsy that uses a set of key indicators to investigate data and outcomes of the community living standards for individuals living with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the United States. The findings from this report can inform policymakers and advocates on improvements and changes to ensure the best quality of life for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The white paper examines the impact that managed care organizations can have on cost and quality of care for older adults and people with disabilities. The National Council on Disability found that MCOs can lower the costs of services for these populations. However, MCOs must face the challenge of training staff on person-centered planning and competency for the quality of care to genuinely increase. This provides an analysis of the positives and negatives of MCOs and where to move from here.