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This brief profiles several Georgia residents who have participated in the state's Money Follows the Person demonstration program, which helps transition people from institutional long-term care back into their homes or the community. It is part of a larger package of resources examining the Money Follows the Person program. Profiles (.pdf)
The Medicaid program is a major payer for long-term services and supports (LTSS) in the United States, accounting for 40 percent of total spending for long-term services and supports. The federal government has played an active role in sponsoring initiatives to promote a shift to community-based care; and evidence from several states suggests that providing care in the community can be less expensive than providing institutional care. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides incentives for…
This paper provides an overview of the joint efforts of states and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop more integrated ways of paying for and delivering health care to the 9 million people who are eligible for both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Dual eligible beneficiaries comprise many of the poorest and sickest people covered by either program, and they account for a disproportionately large share of Medicare and Medicaid spending.…
States are increasingly interested in the individual budget model for older Medicaid beneficiaries as a mechanism to improve responsiveness of benefits to beneficiaries’ needs and preferences and to increase their ability to remain outside or leave nursing homes. Beginning in January 2007, a new provision in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) allows states to offer an individual budget option for an expanded range of home- and community-based services in their Medicaid state plans…
As the long-standing gap between Americans’ need for long-term care services and the public and private funding available to pay for them grows ever wider, this policy brief from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured examines the fundamentals of private long-term care insurance. The brief describes the results of a study exploring how consumers buy policies, how much policies cost and how they work, and what regulations exist to protect consumers. It also…
This policy brief from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured examines the fundamentals of private long-term care insurance. It describes the results of a study exploring how consumers buy policies, how much policies cost and how they work, and what regulations exist to protect consumers. It also discusses some key challenges that policymakers face when considering whether to enlarge the role of private long-term care insurance in financing long-term care. Policy Brief (.pdf)
Medicaid, the main health insurance program for low-income people and the single largest source of public coverage in the U.S., turns 50 this year. In that time, it has grown to cover nearly 70 million Americans and become a key source of financing for safety net hospitals and health centers, as well as the main source of coverage and financing of long-term care. The program continues to be a focus of policy debate and partisan…
This issue brief describes anticipated enrollment changes in pathways based on old age or disability (“non-MAGI”) after the PHE ends, state enrollment and renewal policies for non-MAGI groups as of January 1, 2022, and state plans for resuming normal operations when the PHE ends.
This brief takes a closer look at multiple measures beyond waiver waiting lists to evaluate state choices about optional Medicaid eligibility pathways, spending, and services for seniors and people with disabilities as of 2018. The analysis draws on several KFF resources, including 50-state surveys of Medicaid financial eligibility pathways for seniors and people with disabilities, HCBS waiver programs, and state plan benefits offered, as well as state Medicaid LTSS expenditures reported by Mathematica.
With the pandemic taking a heavy toll among older Americans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and most states have placed a high priority on vaccinating residents and staff of long-term care facilities. People in nursing homes and other long-term care settings account for 6 percent of cases but 38 percent of deaths from COVID-19, a share that has remained largely consistent throughout the pandemic, according to KFF’s updated analysis. KFF held an interactive…
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