This analysis examines the potential access impacts on the dual eligible population in each state of three Medicaid policies passed in July 2025 as part of H.R.1 federal legislation: delaying implementation of CMS rules on Medicaid eligibility & enrollment; reducing how states are able to use state-directed payments (SDP) for Medicaid providers; and imposition of work requirements as a condition of Medicaid eligibility for certain populations.
With co-funding from The John A. Hartford Foundation, Commonwealth Fund, Peterson Health Care, Arnold Ventures, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Better Care Playbook will continue its efforts to advance promising practices to improve care for adults with complex health and social needs. For health care stakeholders, the content is reliable and evidence-based.
The Center for Outcomes Research and Education (CORE) will conduct a shared power analysis with Equity Community Organization Groups (ECO Groups) to understand the impact of the investment model to support community action and change and to assess the potential for this model to be scaled and spread across California.
CA Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan State Technical Assistance
The Center for Health Care Strategies will provide technical assistance to the California Department of Health Care Services Office of Medicare Innovation and Integration as the state continues to advance their goals to improve care for people dually eligible for Medicare and Medi-Cal.
California Collaborative for Long Term Services and Supports (CCLTSS)
CA Advocacy Network 2024-25
Founded by The SCAN Foundation in 2011, the CCLTSS advances long-term services and supports reform in California by uniting state and county-level organizations to educate policymakers, build consensus on policy solutions, and strengthen advocacy for programs that support older adults and people with disabilities across the state’s system of care.
This grant, with co-funding from West Health and Stanley and May Smith Charitable Trust, the Center for Health Care Strategies(CHCS) will continue to support states in a national movement of Multisector Plans for Aging (MPA). This includes 1) continuing to engage and support 20 MPA Learning Collaborative (LC) states, 2) engaging and supporting seven new states that are just beginning to engage in MPAs, and 3) creating a toolkit and in person workshops for states and stakeholders at all phases of MPA development to learn about developing, implementing, refreshing, and measuring progress in MPAs.
Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan Education and Support
With co-funding from the California Health Care Foundation, this project will help promote promising models of integrated care. The Local Health Plans of California (LHPC) Institute will develop a portfolio of Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) education and technical assistance (TA) offerings to support local plans in preparing for implementation of the Department of Health Care Services’ (DHCS) mandated requirement for all Medi-Cal managed care plans (MCP) to implement and operate D-SNPs by January 2026.
Expanding Access to Integrated Medicare-Medicaid Programs in Rural Areas
To promote promising models of integrated care in rural areas, the Center for Health Care Strategies(CHCS) will identify potential key factors influencing the financing and delivery of health care in rural communities and select states and models for analysis. The resulting research will add to the understanding of factors that aid or impede the development and sustainability of integrated Medicare-Medicaid programs, and elevate promising approaches to expanding access to integrated care models in rural areas.
Advancing Health Equity in AI for Older Adults Using the California Safety Net
The project examines biases in healthcare algorithms deployed in community-based care settings to ensure equitable care for marginalized older adults. Outputs include a geospatial mapping tool that integrates hospital-level data with social determinants of health to visualize healthcare technology disparities across communities.
Supporting remote career opportunities for midcareer and older workers in Appalachia
This work supports Generation.org’s remote training program that trains adult learners in rural geographies and place them into new, remote-friendly careers. The SCAN Foundation’s funding focused on recruiting older adult learners for this program.
A Bipartisan Aging and Long-Term Care Agenda: Integrating Care, Improving Affordability, and Elevating Consumers’ Voices
This project will provide policy insights and evidence-based research to better understand 1) how to best move forward on integrated care policy for dually eligible beneficiaries, 2) make long-term care more accessible and affordable for older adults with low or moderate incomes, and 3) amplify the consumer experience of older adults to inform policy reforms. The work will provide promising pathways for bipartisan consensus on reforms that advance a high-functioning health and aging system for all.
The Regents of the University of California, Davis
Rural Policy Publications
To increase awareness and understanding among advocates and state policymakers of the unmet needs and challenges faced by California’s rural older adults, this project will synthesize community feedback from rural MPA efforts to generate state policy recommendations that address critical issues of rural aging.
California Integrated Care at Home – Financing Plan
To advance access to long-term services and supports, LeadingAge California will explore opportunities to blend and braid existing financing sources to pilot a model of care that bridges housing, health care, and LTSS in affordable housing communities called California Integrated Care at Home.
Engagement and Workshops to Support the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC)’s Aging Research Agenda
Through this project, PPIC will build off findings in a recent report on California’s Aging Population to develop a research agenda focused on California’s aging population and the policy solutions needed to support the state’s older adults and those who care for them.
Advancing the Safe, Effective, and Equitable use of AI Within the California Safety Net
Health AI Partnership (HAIP) is at the forefront of equitable and safe AI and the leading organization focused on safety net settings, such as Federally Qualified Health Centers, and has created a “Practice Network”, a selected group of community clinics that will adopt AI solutions with HAIP’s best practices and implementation guidance. Co-funded with the California Health Care Foundation, this project is scoping an operational plan.
