Reports

Arnold Ventures has introduced a new project titled "Melissa & Ann: Navigating America's Tangled Health Care Safety Net," a compelling photo essay featuring the lives of two women living in Southern California who are dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid. Through the lens of award-winning photographer Isadora Kosofsky, this project sheds light on the daily triumphs, challenges, and complexities faced by older adults and people with disabilities navigating the health care system. By sharing these intimate stories, Arnold Ventures aims to inspire policymakers to prioritize improving care for the diverse population of low-income older adults and people with disabilities who are dual-eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.

On May 11th, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released updated 2023 SSI and spousal impoverishment standards. Certain Medicaid income and resource standards are adjusted annually in accordance with changes in the SSI federal benefit rate and the Consumer Price Index, reflecting an effective date of January 1, 2023. Additionally, per section 1924 of the Social Security Act, the community spouse’s minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance (MMMNA) is adjusted based on changes to the federal poverty level and reflects a July 1, 2023 effective date. Additionally, the community spouse’s monthly housing allowance, calculated based on a percentage of the MMMNA, is adjusted each July 1st.

This issue brief was published by Justice in Aging, as a part of its four part series “Risks and Rewards of Demographic Data Collection: How Effective Data Privacy Can Promote Health Equity.” This brief highlights the privacy concerns faced by individuals who are enrolled in Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) or other models that coordinate care across programs, and discusses best practices that plans can put in place to strengthen protections for these vulnerable populations.

Feeding America recently published an annual report that provides a broad overview of the extent and distribution of food insecurity among older adults in the United States in 2021. This resource also details trends in food insecurity over the past two decades using national, state-level, and metropolitan-level data from the December Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS).

CMS has published this report which presents summary information on the quality of health care received by Medicare Advantage enrollees nationwide. The report highlights racial, ethnic, and gender differences in health care experiences and clinical care. The report highlights data regarding patient experiences and compares enrollees responses to national averages.

The National Alliance for Caregiving published this guide intended to assist patient advocacy groups and others who interact with family caregivers in reaching diverse family caregivers and providing culturally responsive resources and supports to them. The guide includes research findings on the needs and concerns of diverse family caregivers as well as recommendations on the best ways to communicate with and support caregivers.

The Center for Health Care Strategies has released a report exploring the benefits of developing Health-Related Social Needs (HRSN) interventions that address the medical, behavioral, and social components of health for Medicaid enrollees. The report examines the need for community-based organizations (CBOs) that specialize in social care, such as food and housing services, to partner with health care organizations (HCOs) to provide more equitable, whole-person care. Drawing from leading-edge state Medicaid programs that require formal CBO-HCO partnerships, the report provides best practices and implementation considerations for other states interested in strengthening CBO-HCO relationships.

On March 31st, the Board of Trustees for Medicare released their most recent report to Congress on the financial operations and actuarial status of Medicare. The Trustees Report describes past and estimated future financial operations of the Hospital Insurance (HI) (Part A) and Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) (Part B and prescription drug coverage) trust funds. According to the report, the Medicare HI trust fund will have funds to pay for Part A benefits until 2031, three years longer than what was reported last year due to higher projected HI income and lower expenditures. However, the Trustees project deficits in the HI trust fund starting in 2025.

the MMCO submitted its FY 2022 Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office Report to Congress, as required by statute. Federal statute established the Federal Coordinated Health Care Office or MMCO within CMS to improve the coordination between the federal government and states to enhance access to quality services for individuals dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid benefits. The report describes MMCO’s activities to better serve dually eligible individuals in 2022 and contains three legislative recommendations, which were proposed in the Presidents Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget.

This report is the most comprehensive and representative assessment of self-reported outcomes among older adults and people with physical disabilities receiving publicly funded LTSS since 2018. These data were collected from 13,663 people between June 2021 and July 2022. The sample includes individuals from 15 regionally representative states and a variety of LTSS programs, including: Medicaid HCBS, Nursing Facilities, and Older Americans Act recipients.