Caregivers

On January 14, 2021 ADvancing States sent out a call for information about how states are rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine to people receiving home and community-based services and/or Older Americans Act services. Information about logistics plans, schedules, partnerships, and communications strategies were all welcomed. This resource reflects the information states sent in response to the call and will be periodically updated as we receive more information.

The most recent issue of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work, A Tribute to Rosalie Kane: Honoring Her Life and Work as Scholar, Mentor, and Social Worker in Gerontology, is dedicated to the life and work of Rosalie Kane. Rosalie helped shape much of our current thinking about long-term services and supports (LTSS). The nine articles and commentaries cover topics ranging from the importance of learning participant preferences to the role of "quality of life" measures in evaluating LTSS.

Attorney General of New York, Letitia James (AG), released a preliminary report on the effect of COVID-19 on nursing homes in New York. The report found that pre-existing short-staffing issues were a defining factor in how a great number of nursing homes in New York fared during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care also released a report detailing harm and neglect resulting from facilities being locked down and inadequate staffing.

This issue brief is the second publication from the ADvancing States Aging and Disabilities Technology Workgroup, which was established in 2019 in order to drive improvements in aging and disabilities state agencies’ information technology (IT), facilitate sharing and learning among states, and assist states as they seek to implement and integrate technology that supports holistic person-centered services.

Resources for Integrated Care (RIC) invites you to explore three new resources related to engaging members in plan governance. These resources are based on feedback from participants in the 2020 Resources for Integrated Care Community of Practice.

ACL awarded the $175 million for Nutrition Services and Native American Nutrition and Supportive Services to enhance ongoing community efforts begun with the support of previous COVID-19 supplemental appropriations.

Prior work has shown that home health providers strategically provided therapy visits and recertified episodes in order to maximize payment under traditional Medicare (TM). However, Medicare Advantage (MA) has more flexibility in terms of how they pay for home health care. This mixed-methods study examines changes in patterns of post-acute and community-admitted home health care use between 2011 and 2016, focusing on differences between MA and TM and across MA contract types.

On January 19th Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Medicaid LTSS Annual Expenditures Report for Federal Fiscal Years (FFY) 2017 and 2018. This report discusses the LTSS rebalancing trends and growth in expenditures for home and community based services (HCBS) as compared to institutional spending during these select years.

This brief summarizes the available data and literature on the cross-national impact of COVID-19 in LTC settings as of October 2020 and the changes in reported death rates since June 2020. This brief was prepared through intramural research by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Office of Behavioral Health, Disability, and Aging Policy.

The National Guardianship Association, along with the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging and the National Center for State Courts have developed an FAQ for guardians about consent for the COVID-19 vaccine for residents of long-term care facilities.