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KFF designs, conducts and analyzes original public opinion and survey research on Americans’ attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with the health care system to help amplify the public’s voice in major national debates.
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This survey shows that most adults feel unprepared for affording the cost of long-term care and support service, and just under half are not confident they will have the financial resources to pay for care they might need as they age. Most older adults have not taken financial or practical steps to plan for their potential future care needs.
In response to long-standing workforce challenges in home- and community-based services, states have reported increasing Medicaid payment rates, providing more education and training or leveraging other strategies to recruit and retain workers.
Almost every state reported increasing Medicaid payment rates for home- and community-based services to recruit and retain workers as part of their strategy to address long-standing workforce challenges, according to a new report from a survey of state officials administrating those programs. Most states also report developing or expanding worker education and training programs and offering incentive payments to recruit or retain workers. All surveyed states reported shortages of care workers and most (43 states)…
Family caregivers played a key role in supporting people who used Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS) during the COVID pandemic. Many states used new pandemic-era authorities to support and pay family caregivers and maintain services in other ways amid workforce shortages and other challenges. Now, several states are ending payments to family caregivers and unwinding other pandemic-era policies, which could complicate ongoing workforce shortages and create new challenges for enrollees, according to survey of…
Drawing from KFF’s 50-state survey of state Medicaid HCBS officials, conducted between May and August of 2023, this issue brief describes how states used the PHE authorities to strengthen their HCBS programs, changes as the PHE ends, and the role of family caregivers in providing HCBS.
Eighty-one percent of nursing facilities would need to hire additional staff to comply with new nursing staff requirements that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed earlier this month, according to a new analysis from KFF. Under the proposed rule, 19% of nursing facilities would currently meet the minimum staff hours for registered nurses and nurse aides.A smaller share of for-profit facilities would meet the proposed staffing requirements. Compared to 60% of non-profit…
This issue brief analyzes the percentage and characteristics of facilities that would meet the rule’s proposed requirements for the minimum number of RN and nurse aide hours to better understand the implications of the rule.
KFF examines how many Medicaid enrollees used Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) for aging, illness, or disability in 2020, how much Medicaid spent on these enrollees, and policy issues to watch in the coming years.
This policy watch explores the potential implications of ending the PHE for Medicaid HCBS programs.
As 2023 kicks off, a number of issues are at play that could affect coverage and financing under Medicaid. This issue brief examines key issues to watch in Medicaid in the year ahead.
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