Reports

Growth in the cost of long-term care services in the U.S. has slowed somewhat during the past two years. As home health care gains in popularity, however, costs are beginning to rise more rapidly and are expected to increase steadily over the next few years. Read about these trends and more in this 2010 study that looked at consumer perceptions and cost trends by state and key metropolitan areas.

States have faced considerable challenges, but by the end of 2009, MFP programs had helped approximately 5,600 people transition to community living. This report describes the program’s status through December 2009, including how states are progressing toward their goals, and provides baseline information for analyses of impacts and outcomes.

Family caregiving has long been the most common source of long-term care for older people with disabilities in the U.S. Explore this report looking at recent trends in the types of assistance that older people with disabilities receive and sources of payment for this assistance. It presents major findings on the growing number of older people with disabilities in the community and their care arrangements, summarized by seven trends.

With federal funding, states have worked to make One-Stop services more accessible to people with disabilities through the Disability Program Navigator (DPN) initiative. This report assesses the extent to which working age recipients of Social Security disability benefits used these services and looks at employment outcomes and differences in utilization and outcomes over time as the initiative matured in the four states studied.

What are the short and intermediate-term outcomes for beneficiaries receiving WIPA services, and what are the program variations in outputs and costs? This report presents findings on the activities of the 103 organizations receiving SSA grants under the WIPA program, established in 2006 to disseminate information on work incentives and support beneficiaries in their efforts to return to work. This is the first in a series of reports that make up the sixth Ticket to Work evaluation report.

A conference was held to inform potential solutions to improve the cost and quality of care across the health care continuum for older Americans. Synthesizing the conference, this report addresses many of the challenges facing individuals with chronic conditions and functional impairments, and identifies new opportunities for the integration of medical services and social supports tailored to older Americans and supported by new payment designs.

Looking for samples of MIG program evaluations? The state of Connecticut created the attached evaluation reports for their Connect-Ability Program. These samples contain program details and the needs, experiences, and satisfaction of individuals who received services. Also included are the procedures and outcomes of nine strategic plans implemented by Local Level Pilot programs. These reports could be helpful for states interesting in evaluating similar initiatives.

Texas is using its MFP Demonstration to address some of the obstacles to relocation and successful access to community living through interagency collaboration, development of the necessary infrastructure to support relocation, and utilization of evidence-based practices. Attached find two presentations delivered at the 2010 HCBS conference, as well as links to the program’s on-line proposal and operational protocol.

For the tenth consecutive year, a survey of Medicaid officials in all 50 states and DC was conducted to track trends in Medicaid spending, enrollment and policy initiatives. Findings are presented for FYs 2010 and 2011. As states grapple with historically difficult budget conditions, they must also plan for the implementation of the ACA. Review this report including background on the Medicaid program, as well as current issues the program faces.

Arizona has issued reports detailing work the state has done in supporting individuals with disabilities transitioning to work,and self-sufficiency with work incentives, health care coverage, benefits planning, etc. Attached are documents regarding outreach done for the Medicaid Buy-In program including which individuals were trained to disseminate the information, and data on the increase in work incentive utilization for SSI recipients.