Reports

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.

A new report from the Alliance’s Homelessness Research Institute analyzes 2018 data from the Vulnerability Index Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool to examine the different ways in which older adults exit homelessness; identify disparities in types of exits by shelter status, race, ethnicity, and gender; and recommend issues that need further research and policy attention.

Earlier this week University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation released findings from the University of Michigan National Poll on Health Aging. The new report share results gathered in late January 2023 that add to previous data from polls fielded in 2018 and during all three years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report shared that one in three (34%) of older adults reported feeling isolated from others in the past year, a decline from the 2020 report findings.

KFF released a new report that shares a range of strategies states are using as they prepare to resume Medicaid disenrollment. The twenty-first annual KFF survey of state Medicaid Health Insurance (CHIP) Programs officials found that many states are using an array of strategies to promote continuity of coverage. The report shares findings from all states on their strategies to promote continuous coverage.

On Wednesday, March 15, 2023, MACPAC released it's March 2023 Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP. The report recommends a series of measures aimed at improving the collection of race and ethnicity data, increasing transparency in nursing facility payment data, and giving states greater flexibility in following Medicare drug coverage decisions. It also includers MACPAC's annual, statutorily required report examining payment policy for safety net hospitals.