NASUAD Publishes Updated State Medicaid Integration Tracker

The National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) has published the October 2014 Edition of the State Medicaid Integration Tracker, a report which summarizes state actions in managed care for people who receive Medicaid-funded Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS), as well state initiatives relating to services for people who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. This report is updated each month. 

The State Medicaid Integration Tracker focuses primarily on state actions in managed care for people who receive Medicaid-funded LTSS and on state initiatives relating to services and costs of services for people who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare.

Click here to view the entire tracker.

2014 HCBS Conference Evaluation and Materials are Now Available

Click here to take the conference evaluation.

Click here to view the conference materials.

Click here to contact Byron Phillips if you see that your own presentation is missing.

Celebrating 30 Years of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act

Medicaid Managed Care Capitation Rate FAQ Sheet

On October 7th, CMS released a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the impact of the Health Insurer Providers Fee - established under Section 9010 of the Affordable Care Act to provide funding for insurance subsidies through the Marketplace - on Medicaid managed care capitation rates.  These FAQs provide broad guidance on such issues as retroactive rate adjustments, permissibility of paying the fee outside capitation rates and populations for which the fee should be assessed.  CMS does state, per IRS guidance, that premiums for long-term care are not subject to the HIPF.  States that operate MLTSS programs are encouraged to read this guidance carefully.  NASUAD staff can provide assistance /clarification as needed.

Click here to view the FAQ sheet. 

CMS Announces Two Medicare Quality Improvement Initiatives
On October 6, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced two initiatives to improve the quality of post-acute care. First, the expansion and strengthening of the agency's Five Star Quality Rating System for Nursing Homes is intended to improve consumer information about individual nursing homes' quality. Second, proposed new conditions of participation for home health agencies will seek tomodernize Medicare's Home Health Agency Conditions of Participation to ensure safe delivery of quality care to home health patients. The proposed rulemaking on Conditions of Participation for Home Health Agencies include expansion of patient rights requirements; refocusing of the patient assessment on physical, mental, emotional, and psychosocial conditions; improved communication systems and requirements for a data-driven quality assessment; and performance improvement program. 

For more information, click here.

DOL Publishes Notice Describing FLSA Non-Enforcement 

On Tuesday, October 7, the Department of Labor published a policy statement in the Federal Register.  According to the statement, DOL will not delay the regulation's effective date; however, they will pursue a policy of non-enforcement for the first 6 months.  Under non-enforcement, the regulation will become effective but DOL will not bring any actions against employers that are out of compliance with the requirements.  Instead, DOL will use complaints as a way to identify issues and to provide more intensive technical assistance in order to assist employers and states as they work to become compliant.  Beginning July 2015, DOL will use prosecutorial discretion until December 31, 2015.  DOL describes prosecutorial discretion as meaning that, if states are making reasonable progress towards compliance, DOL may continue to apply non-enforcement policies. Any such decision will be at DOL's discretion.  NASUAD appreciates DOL's efforts to balance their mutual goals of improving worker pay while ensuring that seniors and people with disabilities retain access to LTSS.  However, we remain concerned that the DOL non-enforcement strategy does not mitigate all of the operational, fiscal, and policy issues that states must address before the policy becomes effective. 

For more information, click here.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Held each October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is a national campaign that raises awareness about disability employment issues and celebrates the many and varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities. The theme for 2014 is "Expect. Employ. Empower." 

Click here for a resource toolbox, including posters, sample press releases and sample social media updates.

Nominations for WIOA Advisory Council Due

Nominations for the Advisory Committee to Increase Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities as a part of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), are due October 14, 2014.

The committee consists of both federal officials and private citizens from specific groups identified in the WIOA legislation. People interested in being nominated for the committee are encouraged to review the Federal Register Notice and submit the requested information. 

Literature Review on Systems Serving Transition-Age Youth

To support the development of an interagency strategy to improve transition results for youth with disabilities, the Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor, funded the development of a literature review that focuses on five federal systems that play key and inter-related roles in preparing youth with disabilities as they transition into adulthood: vocational rehabilitation, social security, juvenile justice, behavioral health, and workforce investment. This study summarizes each system's role, the extent of its use by the population, and central programs and authorizing legislation. In addition, challenges and recommendations for each system are identified, as are common themes and trends across systems.

Click here to view the literature review. 

Online Course: Talking with Patients about ACA Immunization Coverage

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is offering an online training module, developed by Rebecca Fish, Senior Policy Advisor to the National Vaccine Program Office, in conjunction with Eugene Freund, MD, MSPH of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service,  about how to talk with patients about immunization coverage in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This three-pronged activity aims to increase understanding of the changes to immunization coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act. This course offers CME/CE Credits.

Click here to learn more.

2014 Medicare Part B Premiums and Deductible to Remain the Same as the Last Two Years

Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell announced today that next year's standard Medicare Part B monthly premium and deductible will remain the same as the last two years. Medicare Part B covers physicians' services, outpatient hospital services, certain home health services, durable medical equipment, and other items.  For the approximately 49 million Americans enrolled in Medicare Part B, premiums and deductibles will remain unchanged in 2015 at $104.90 and $147, respectively. This leaves more of seniors' cost of living adjustment from Social Security in their pockets.

Click here to learn more.

Booklet on Memory Loss Now Available

The National Institute on Aging has published a booklet titled, Understanding Memory Loss: What To Do When You Have Trouble Remembering. This booklet serves to explain the many possible causes of memory loss, how to treat it, and when to seek medical help.

The booklet is available online and in print, as an eBook, and it is downloadable on iTunes or Google Play (search for "Understanding Memory Loss").

 Click here to view other NIA eBooks.

Congress on Recess until November 12, 2014

Webinar: Bisexuality and Aging

 The American Society on Aging is hosting a webinar on Thursday, October 23rd at 1:00PM EST, to help professionals in the field of aging become more aware of bisexuality and will serve to educate them in how best to work with this population.

Bisexuality often is viewed as being part gay and part straight, rather than as its own identity. Not only do bisexuals face discrimination by heterosexuals, but also experience resistance within the lesbian, gay, transgender (LGT) community, with bisexuals often being perceived as "sitting on the fence" (biphobia); however, issues confronting older lesbians and gay men partially overlap with the experiences of older bisexuals.

Participants in this webinar will be able to:

• Explain the variances in the definitions of bisexuality;
• Dispel three myths about bisexuality;
• Identify two strategies for being more inclusive of aging bisexuals; and
• Learn two resources for more information about bisexuality.

Click here to register.

The webinar is free for ASA members, and $99 for non-members. 

Kaiser and NAMD Joint Briefing to Release Findings from Annual Kaiser 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey and Discuss Medicaid Trends

On Tuesday, October 14, 2014, 9:30 a.m. ET, the Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) will release its 14th annual 50-state Medicaid budget survey for state fiscal years 2014 and 2015, along with three additional reports based on survey results.  One of the reports, completed in partnership with the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD), will discuss Medicaid policy and program changes in all 50 states.  Further, the Foundation and NAMD will hold a joint briefing to discuss key findings, trends, and changes in Medicaid programs throughout the U.S. that will include a panel of  state Medicaid directors from Virginia, Connecticut and Delaware.

Click here to register for the briefing.