Maine

The Aging and Disability Business Institute in partnership with AgeSpan released their newest case study, an exploration of evidence based programs in New England to promote health and wellbeing. The report examines the multistate network of Area Agencies on Aging brought about a collaborative approach to deliver new evidence-based programs and maintaining community connection.

NCOA and Health Management Associates (HMA) have released a new report detailing eight strategies and approaches to expand funding for evidence-based health programs. NCOA and HMA reviewed five states and one city- California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, New York City, and Washington- with community-based organizations that have strong partnerships with Medicaid agencies and managed-care organizations.

This report examines how states can help finance LTSS. It analyzes emerging LTSS social insurance strategies in six states: Washington, Hawaii, Maine, California, Michigan, and Minnesota. The report includes information from 42 stakeholder interviews in these states and outlines lessons learned during the policy change process.

This report highlights innovative approaches in supporting family caregivers. The report features programs in Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Washington.

This issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation examines the implications of work requirements for Medicaid recipients with disabilities. Kaiser’s analysis finds that waivers that condition Medicaid eligibility on meeting a work requirement could affect people with disabilities who have limitations that interfere with their ability to work but do not rise to the stringent SSI level of disability.

This brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation describes what the Medicaid eligibility work requirements would be in each state, including what would count as work activities, the hours required, and what the common exemptions to the requirements would be. The brief also describes key issues to consider in implementing such requirements, such as administrative costs, potential confusion over documentation requirements and the risk that some people will lose coverage for which they remain eligible.

This report documents the nationwide housing affordability crisis experienced by people with disabilities. The report discusses how in 2016, millions of adults with disabilities living solely on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) found that renting even a modest unit in their community would require nearly all of their monthly income. The report offers policy recommendations to address this crisis.

This issue brief provides an overview of state agency data systems that are utilized to collect, aggregate, and analyze data for the administration of the Older Americans Act (OAA) programs. This report provides a snapshot of current state systems in 2017, changes to which are impacted by both national and state-level factors.

This report from Truven Health Analytics describes section 1915(c) home and community based services waiver programs. Over 1.6 million people received section 1915(c) waiver services in 2014; this is a 5 percent increase from 1.5 million in 2013. Furthermore, the number of section 1915(c) waiver participants has increased by an average of 4 percent per year since 2009. Participants received services for an average of 10 months in 2014, as in previous years.

This paper describes strategies used in four highly ranked or significantly improved states, including Minnesota, to reduce the risk of long-term nursing home care after a hospitalization. Included in the paper is a toolkit of resources that can help others learn more and potentially replicate these practices, as well as contact information for experts.