News on transforming care for older adults
TSF is driving efforts to ensure equitable aging for all and funding efforts to illustrate key research. The second in a series from the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston uses Health and Retirement Survey data to elucidate health inequities in aging.
During COVID-19, Black and Hispanic older adults reported using telehealth less and delaying medical care more often than white respondents. Access the latest chart pack.
By asking individuals with complex care needs “what matters most?” person-centered outcome (PCO) measures drive care that aligns with people’s personal health goals, and encourage organizations throughout the care continuum to work together in an integrated manner.
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) convened multidisciplinary experts to review the current landscape of goal attainment scaling methodology and identify best practices for implementing the method with diverse audiences. The learnings from these convenings contributed to the following:
These resources can help health care delivery systems and other entities start documenting what matters most to an individual in a structured way.
Finally, a session at NCQA’s Health Innovation Summit will focus on current efforts to test the PCO measures (October 25, 2:50 pm ET). Register today.
Bringing awareness to aging and equity issues, our partnership with UC Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program advances unique reporting. A recent piece in The Washington Post examines states’ actions to train paid caregivers in an effort to better care for our growing aging population.
The latest report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality examines opportunities for developing a person-centered care system and integrating the voices of older adults, caregivers, and communities to design effective models of care for improving older adults’ health and well-being. View the spring roundtable report.
Although recent data from the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston shows that U.S. adults, age 50+, feel their care preferences are being considered more often, stark racial and socioeconomic inequities persist. That’s the main finding of a comprehensive look at care preferences from 2014-20, funded by The SCAN Foundation.
The analyses reveal that race, income, and geography highly influence people’s care experiences. Read the related press release.
The California Department of Health Care Services Office of Medicare Innovation and Integration recently released the second in a series of chartbooks developed with ATI Advisory. Each resource provides information on the demographics, needs, and health care experiences of California’s Medicare beneficiary population.
Developing programs and services that are culturally and linguistically responsive is critical to addressing disparities and improving the care experience. Cultural and Linguistic Demographics of the California Medicare Population includes information about language and birthplace demographics. Also, read the prior chartbook, an overview of the state’s Medicare beneficiaries.
We partner with UC Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program (IRP) to elevate innovative programs for older adults. Two recent articles share local activities that help older adults connect to their communities and could be replicated across the nation.
Review past articles in the IRP series.
The majority of older adults want to remain in their own homes and communities as they age, and home- and community-based care tends to be more cost-effective than institutional alternatives. Estimates indicate that gradually shifting Medicaid spending from institutional services to home- and community-based care, a process known as rebalancing, can reduce state costs by about 15 percent over 10 years.
The federal American Rescue Plan Act temporarily increased funding states could use to improve Medicaid home- and community-based services, known as HCBS. States have through March 31, 2025, to use the funding for a variety of HCBS services.
Learn more from the National Conference of State Legislatures, and watch a related webinar.
In a recent article for Today’s Geriatric Medicine, TSF President and CEO Sarita A. Mohanty, MD, MPH, MBA, discussed barriers to aging well at home and in community, and potential solutions to make it more of a reality. It starts with a person having conversations with their families and friends as well as doctors about one’s “aging goals.”
“This includes asking questions about [a person’s] future preferences and reiterating the need to plan how their needs will be met and how they will be paid for,” Dr. Mohanty said. “While helping every patient age in place is not the job of every physician, advocating for one’s patients is. Physicians and the organizations they work for can influence systems change and advocate for access to services for their older adult patients. …”
The “forgotten middle” represents more than 11 million older adults who will need health care and housing in the next 10 years but won’t qualify for Medicaid to help alleviate increasing costs. We’re hosting a virtual briefing on May 11 to discuss the urgent need for action.
Join Dr. Sarita A. Mohanty, President and CEO of The SCAN Foundation, and Caroline Pearson, Executive Director at the Peterson Center on Healthcare, to provide insights on how the intersections of housing insecurity, health care access and affordability, and available community services affect older adults.
Register for the May 11 webinar today.
This month, on behalf of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, The SCAN Foundation celebrates the rich contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islanders to the history and culture of our nation.
The 2023 theme, Advancing Leaders Through Opportunity, is apt.
Although the first documented arrival of Asians in America was 1587 when Filipinos arrived in California, May was chosen as the time for commemoration in 1978, aligning with the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843. Additionally, May marks the date of the transcontinental railroad being completed on May 10, 1869. Most of the workers who laid the tracks for this enormous and often dangerous undertaking were immigrants from China.
We appreciate the overlay of the celebratory heritage month with Older Americans Month and seek to elevate AAPI leaders contributing to the aging, equity, and health care sectors. Come along with us on social media throughout the month as we elevate the contributions, influences, and impacts of AAPI individuals.
“There aren’t enough days in a year for us to recognize the contributions of the many individuals from the AAPI communities that we’d like to,” said Rigo J. Saborio, MSG, Vice President of Programs, Equity, and Community Impact. “Though we can’t name everyone, through this exercise we hope to acknowledge and honor a select group of leaders working and contributing so diligently to improve services and supports so we can all age well.”
In a recent article for Today’s Geriatric Medicine, TSF President and CEO Sarita A. Mohanty, MD, MPH, MBA, discussed barriers to aging in place and potential solutions to make aging well more of a reality. It starts with a person having conversations with their families and friends as well as doctors about one’s “aging goals.”
“This includes asking questions about [a person’s] future preferences and reiterating the need to plan how their needs will be met and how they will be paid for,” Dr. Mohanty said. “While helping every patient age in place is not the job of every physician, advocating for one’s patients is. Physicians and the organizations they work for can influence systems change and advocate for access to services for their older adult patients. …”
During the pandemic, the Central Coast Center for Independent Living (CCCIL) evolved their strategies to maximize programs’ impact on community members. Learn how the Regional Coalition is thinking about the future.
CCCIL is part of the California Advocacy Network, a statewide movement involving nearly 1,000 organizations who serve more than 95 percent of California’s population.
Multisector Plans for Aging (MPAs) can serve as blueprints for committing to a vision and implementing a world where all people are fully valued, recognized, and engaged at all ages. A recent Grantmakers In Aging brief examines the fundamentals of the MPA movement and discusses how funders can get involved and help advance the work.
California is transforming the Medi-Cal program to be more coordinated and person-centered through the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) program. For beneficiaries who qualify, managed care plans will offer enhanced care management and various community supports through community-based organizations (CBOs).
To help CBOs build capacity to partner with health plans and participate in the new system, the state is offering Providing Access and Transforming Health (PATH) — Capacity and Infrastructure Transition, Expansion and Development (CITED) grants. Register for the April 27 webinar to learn about the grants and prepare for the future. (Sponsored by TSF and the Archstone Foundation)
There is a lack of geriatric-prepared providers in rural areas where older adults live. A study of Pennsylvania’s largest federally qualified health center found that using the Project ECHO model to train rural providers on the 4Ms Age-Friendly Health Systems Framework demonstrated successful process outcomes.
TSF and our grantees are headed to Atlanta for the annual conference of the American Society on Aging (ASA). Check out where you can find us and register for On Aging 2023.
Last week, the Alliance for Health Policy held a webinar to discuss telehealth policy and other considerations for using the public health emergency (PHE) flexibilities to improve person-centered, equitable care for adults. Watch the recording, as well as access the transcript and presentation.
The related PHE Flexibilities Roadmap for Policymakers resources supported by TSF and released earlier this year provide concrete and consensus-driven recommendations to federal and state policymakers on which temporary Medicare and Medicaid flexibilities should be made permanent.
This month, Grantmakers In Aging (GIA) interviewed Rigo J. Saborio, TSF’s Vice President of Programs, Equity, and Community Impact. Recently elected to GIA’s Board of Directors, Rigo shared some insights on his professional journey and more.
Join Alliance for Health Policy this Friday for a webinar: Moving Beyond COVID-19: Considerations for Using PHE Flexibilities to Improve Person-Centered Care. The event will feature TSF leadership and a diverse panel of experts to discuss considerations for using the public health emergence (PHE) flexibilities to improve person-centered, equitable care for older adults.
This webinar further unpacks the PHE Flexibilities Roadmap for Policymakers resources supported by TSF and released earlier this year. The Roadmap provides concrete and consensus-driven recommendations to federal and state policymakers on which temporary Medicare and Medicaid flexibilities should be made permanent. View the related media advisory.
How are Medicare Advantage (MA) plans structuring and delivering nonmedical supplemental benefits to meaningfully meet members’ needs? The Long-Term Quality Alliance (LTQA) and ATI Advisory conducted an analysis of three nonmedical benefits: in-home support services (IHSS), caregiver supports, and social needs. Join them for a webinar to learn about the findings.
TSF’s Anika S. Heavener, Vice President of Innovation and Investments, spoke with Silver Solutions CEO Dan Lagani for the Age Wise podcast on the challenges facing aging populations and TSF’s priorities and hopes in 2023. Watch the episode.
The complex care evidence base is growing, yet meaningful patient involvement in the research is lacking. As a result, researchers often measure “success” as defined by health systems and plans, typically based on reduced utilization and costs.
The Better Care Playbook engaged a social justice, community, and behavioral health advocate to discuss the value of involving people with lived experience in the research process.
