NASUAD Publishes Updated State Medicaid Integration Tracker
NASUAD has published the July 2015 Edition of the State Medicaid Integration Tracker. The State Medicaid Integration Tracker is a monthly report summarizing state actions in Managed Long Term Services and Supports (MLTSS), as well as State Demonstrations to Integrate Care for Dual Eligible Individuals and other Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Initiatives.
The Tracker also includes updates on state participation in other LTSS activities, including: the Balancing Incentive Program; Medicaid State Plan Amendments under 1915(i); Community First Choice Option under 1915(k); and Medicaid Health Homes. Click here to view this month's Tracker. Click here for comprehensive information on each state, as well as archived versions of the Tracker. Click here to sign up for alerts on Tracker updates.
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I&R Center Webinar: Future Planning
The National I&R Support Center will host a webinar on Future Planning, or creating a guide for a person with an intellectual or developmental disability to lead a good life as independently as possible. The webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, August 5, 2015, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.
Join our presenters from The Arc - Robin Shaffert, Senior Executive Officer, Individual and Family Support, and Jenny Sladen, Program Manager, National Initiatives - to learn about The Arc and its Center for Future Planning. Future Planning is creating a guide for a person with an intellectual or developmental disability (I/DD) to lead a good life as independently as possible. A plan is important throughout all stages of life and especially in the future after the parent or caregiver is no longer able to provide support. The Arc's Center for Future Planning aims to provide support and resources to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD); their families, including parents or caregivers who are aging; and professionals who support them.
No pre-registration is required to participate in the webinar. On a computer, use any browser with Flash. Nothing to download. On a phone or tablet, launch the join.me app and enter meeting code: nasuadwebinar To join the audio conference:Dial 888-346-3659 Access Code 33688# Click here to join the I&R Center's distribution list.
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The HCBS Conference- Early Bird Discount Ends July 31- Register Today and Save $100!
Join us for the National Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Conference held in Washington, DC, August 31-September 3. This year we will be hosting a movie screening of the Glen Campbell documentary: I'll Be Me, in the evening of Wednesday, September 3rd.
In 2011, music legend Glen Campbell set out on an unprecedented tour across America. They thought it would last 5 weeks; instead, it went for 151 spectacular sold out shows over a triumphant year and a half across America. What made this tour extraordinary was that Glen had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He was told to hang up his guitar and prepare for the inevitable. Instead, Glen and his wife went public with his diagnosis and announced that he and his family would set out on a "Goodbye Tour." The film documents this amazing journey as he and his family attempt to navigate the wildly unpredictable nature of Glen's progressing disease using love, laughter and music as their medicine of choice.
The Early Bird Discount ends July 31, 2015, so register today!
Click here to learn more about the conference and register!
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HCBS Clearinghouse E-Clips
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This section of Friday Update highlights reports that have been added to the HCBS Clearinghouse within the past week. Visit www.nasuad.org/hcbs for more information.
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How MCOs Can Reduce Costs and Improve Care for Seniors and People with Disabilities
Direct Course released a white paper that examines the impact that managed care organizations can have on cost and quality of care for older adults and people with disabilities. The National Council on Disability found that MCOs can lower the costs of services for these populations. However, MCOs must face the challenge of training staff on person-centered planning and competency for the quality of care to genuinely increase. This paper provides an analysis of the positives and negatives of MCOs and where to move from here.
Click here to access the report and findings.
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True Link Report on Elder Financial Abuse
True Link released a report on elder financial abuse that found seniors lose $36.48 billion each year to financial abuse. This startling number is broken down into the categories of financial exploitation, criminal fraud, and caregiver abuse. While many victims of financial abuse are seniors with cognitive and memory problems, the study found that seniors who are financially sophisticated, educated, and friendly also fall prey to abuse. The study also examines the sources of risk, exploitation progression, and non-financial effects.
Click here to access the report and findings.
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Medicare Advantage 2015 Spotlight: Enrollment Market Update
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation released an issue brief reviewing the national and state level Medicaid Advantage enrollment trends as of March 2015. It was believed that the reductions in payments to Medicare Advantage plans would reduce enrollments, but it has actually increased by 5.6 million. Medicare Advantage enrollment has grown and increased this year. One key finding showed that "almost one in three (31%) of people on Medicare (16.8 million beneficiaries) were enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan in March 2015-- up by more than one million beneficiaries from 2014."
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Care Coordination in Managed Long Term Services and Supports Report
The AARP Public Policy Institute released a new report conducted by Truven Health Analytics. The two part study examined Medicaid Managed Long Term Services and Supports program contracts in 18 different states for older adults and people with physical disabilities and case studies of new care coordination models in Ohio and Illinois. The findings indicate that states need care coordination and that these care coordinators provide crucial support for consumers and their family caregivers.
Click here to access the reports and findings.
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Administration for Community Living
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Webinar: Identifying and Supporting People with Dementia Who Live Alone
The National Alzheimer's and Dementia Resource Center is holding a Technical Assistance (TA) webinar on Thursday, July 30, 2015, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m ET. The webinar will provide information about prevalence and characteristics of people with dementia who live alone, signs of self-neglect and intervention strategies, and the experiences of people with dementia who live alone. The presenters will be Dr. Phyllis "Penny" Braudy Harris, Ph.D, ACSW, LISW, Professor and Chair of the Sociology and Criminology Department, and Director of Aging Studies at the John Carroll University and Dr. Michael Lepore, Ph.D, Senior Health Policy & Health Services Researcher at RTI International and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice at Brown University.
Click here to view details and register.
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Share Feedback on Draft APS Guidelines
There are no federal guidelines for Adult Protect Service Agencies to follow, rather each state adheres to their own guidelines. The Administration for Community Living (ACL) seeks to create national guidelines, rooted in strong federal leadership, to create a set of principles and expectations to increase consistency in APS agencies across the country. ACL formed a set of draft guidelines using the most current science on what works in APS and other similar systems in the United States. ACL is now looking for feedback from the public in order to refine and finalize the draft guidelines. Their goal is to facilitate the creation of the guidelines to ensure they are consensus-informed and field driven. All comments must be submitted by Tuesday, October 13, 2015.
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| Centers for Medicaid & CHIP Services |
Office of Management & Budget Circular A-87 Time Extension and Cost Allocation
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a letter with additional guidance for the states on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-87 cost allocation exception. The letter provides a one-time extension through December 31, 2015, that offers an additional 3 years to the timeline originally provided in 2011. The cost exception and time extension are intended to give states the opportunity to leverage their investments and provide consumers with better service for their needs.
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| Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services |
Funding Opportunity for SHIP and ADRC Options Counseling to Medicare-Medicaid Individuals
On July 16, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the funding opportunity:
Affordable Care Act SHIP and ADRC Options Counseling for Medicare-Medicaid Individuals in States with Approved Financial Alignment Models. The Financial Alignment Initiative is a federal-state partnership to test aligning the service delivery and financing of the Medicare and Medicaid programs to better serve dual-eligible individuals. The funding opportunity will provide financial assistance to State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) and Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) to provide options counseling to dual-eligibles to ensure that these individuals have access to an unbiased and consumer friendly source of information and counseling to help them make informed decisions about options they have for receiving their Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Following an initial funding opportunity for five states with approved financial alignment demonstrations, this second funding opportunity is intended to support options counseling in other states which have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) as well as give current awardees an opportunity to request additional funding. Funding under this announcement is only available to states that have signed MOU with CMS to participate in the Financial Alignment Initiative through implementation of a CMS-approved model. The current closing date for applications is Friday, August, 14, 2015.
Click here to view more information about the funding opportunity.
Click here to view more information on approved state financial alignment demonstrations.
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Medicare Board of Trustees Annual Report
The Medicare Board of Trustees released their annual report to Congress on the financial operations and actuarial status of Medicare on July 22, 2015. The report included a projection indicating that the trust fund will remain solvent until 2030, which is 13 years longer than the 2009 prediction. Medicare covered 53.8 million people last year and the report provides a break down of the expenditures of each individual part of Medicare and its overall cost.
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| White House Conference on Aging |
White House Conference on Aging Video Recaps
The White House Conference on Aging (WHCOA) took place on Monday, July 13, 2015, in Washington, DC. The conference featured panels with distinguished experts from various fields, remarks from President Barak Obama, and the release of several new initiatives from his administration. C-SPAN uploaded videos of the Discussion on Caregivers panel, Obama's remarks, and the Financial Planning and Retirement Savings panel.
Click here to view the videos.
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| AARP Public Policy Institute |
Blog Post: Changing the Pace for Caregiving Families
The AARP Public Policy Institute has released a new blog post on the need to accelerate the pace of change for caregiving families. Despite some recent policy advances at the federal and state levels, more needs to be done to adapt to the changing and more complex care needs of family caregivers. Lynn Friss Feinberg writes that it's time to hold a national conversation on the role of family care and meaningful public policy and private sector solutions.
Click here to view the blog post.
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| American Association on Health and Disability |
Health Insurance Jeopardy Videos
The American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD) released a Health Insurance Jeopardy video series. The series includes topics on prescription drugs, medical devices, rehabilitation and habilitiation benefits, Medicaid eligibility, the summer of benefits and coverage, and mental health. These videos provide consumers with information on the right questions to ask when shopping for healthcare.
Click here to view the videos.
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| Food Research & Action Center |
Webinar: Disability, Food Insecurity, and SNAP
The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) is hosting a webinar to address the needs of Americans with disabilities that face food insecurity. A distinguished panel of experts will speak about the current status of food insecurity among this population, the role of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for people with disabilities, and offer recommendations for strengthening SNAP benefits.The release of the new FRAC Report, SNAP Matters for People with Disabilities, will accompany this webinar. The webinar will take place on Tuesday, July 28, 2015 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. ET.
Click here to view details and register.
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A Guide of 20 Common Nursing Home Problems and How to Resolve Them
Many common nursing home practices are, in fact, illegal. In order to receive the best possible quality of care, a resident or resident's family member should be familiar with the protections of the federal Nursing Home Reform Law, and understand how to use the law effectively.
Here is a resource that can help consumers and advocates alike navigate the legalities of nursing home practices, and offer practical tips on how to resolve issues that come up. Our friends at Justice in Aging have updated their guide, 20 Common Nursing Home Problems and How to Resolve Them, and they are making it available for free download to anyone who needs it.
Click here to request a copy of the updated guide.
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| National Disability Institute |
ADA at 25: Economic Advancement & Financial Inclusion Summit Recap
The National Disability Institute hosted the ADA at 25 Economic Advancement and Financial Inclusion Summit this past Wednesday in Washington, DC. The event brought together 150 leaders from all disciplines of the disability community from self-advocates to policymakers. An agenda was created at the summit to highlight the changes that must be made to promote financial inclusion.
Click here to view highlights from the summit.
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Home and Community Based Services Quality Comments
The National Quality Forum (NQF) is holding a stakeholder committee to develop recommendations for the improvement of quality measurements in home and community based services (HCBS). NQF released the interim report, "Addressing Performance Measure Gaps in Home and Community Based Services to Support Community Living- Initial Components of the Conceptual Framework," to guide the changes of future quality measures. NQF encourages individuals to view the report and make comments by 5 p.m. on Monday, August 17, 2015.
Click here to view the report and make comments.
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| Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America |
Access Better Coverage State Reports
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufactuers of America (PhRMA) released new state resource reports on their Access Better Coverage website. The reports include information on how states can improve coverage and facts on state exchange plans including deductibles and cost sharing.
Click here to view the reports.
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Financial Management Services Conference
The National Resource Center for Participant-Directed Services (NRCPDS) is excited to announce that registration for the 6th Financial Management Services (FMS) Conference from November 9-10, 2015 in Baltimore, MD is now open! Early registration is effective now- August 31, 2015. Additional information about registration, the preconference workshop on participant direction in managed care, and a schedule for the full conference are available here.
Are you interested in sponsoring the 2015 FMS Conference? There are various sponsorship levels available, as well as customized sponsorship opportunities. More information about sponsorship is available.
Click here to view the conference information.
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Job & Internship Postings
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Area Agency on Aging Director
The River Valley Regional Commission is seeking applicants for the position of Area Agency on Aging Director. The director will be responsible for managing contracts with the Georgia Department of Human Services Division of Aging Services and area providers. Qualified applicants will have a minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in Gerontology and/or a related field and five (5) years of experience in health and aging services. Master's Degree preferred.
Click here to view the full posting.
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