Call for sessions is available here. Exhibitor prospectus is available here. |
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April is National Minority Health Month
This April, we celebrate National Minority Health Month 2012. The theme for this year is "Health Equity Cant's Wait. Act Now in Your Community." This month is used to raise awareness of the health disparities that continue to affect racial and ethnic minorities. Minorities are less likely to get preventive care, more likely to suffer from serious illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and colon cancer, and less likely to have access to quality health care.
The Affordable Care Act addresses the needs of minority populations and other underserved groups, by bringing down health care costs, investing in prevention, and supporting improvements in primary care and Medicare.
More than 1.2 million Latinos, Blacks, Asian Americans and American Indian/Alaska Natives have gained coverage because the Affordable Care Act allows young adults without employer-provided insurance to stay on their parents' plans until age 26. Many Americans can now get such key preventive services as mammograms, cancer screenings and flu vaccinations with no co-pay or deductible, a significant barrier in the past to many in minority communities. Insurance companies cannot discriminate against children under 19 for pre-existing conditions, and in 2014, that protection will cover adults, as well.
More information about National Minority Health Month can be found here.
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Health and Human Services
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New Brief on Medicaid Financing for Chronically Homeless People
The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) within Health and Human Services published a brief on Medicaid financing for services in supportive housing for chronically homeless people, focusing on current practices and opportunities. The report is available here.
Other recent ASPE issue papers addressing chronic homelessness are available here.
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Spring SART Open
The Spring 2012 Semi-Annual Reporting Tool is open for reporting throughout the month of April. Data reported by grantees through the SART help provide a fuller picture of all the program activity across the nation and in each state. Thank you in advance for your effort in providing full and comprehensive reports about your activities and sharing lessons learned so they might benefit the larger grantee community.
Two SART trainings are scheduled in April. These trainings are intended for program staff who are responsible for semi-annual reporting at the state and local levels, and especially recommended for staff who will be reporting through the online system for the first time. Click the links to register for one of the trainings, both at 3:00 PM ET on Thursday, April 5, and Thursday, April 19.
The ADRC Technical Assistance Exchange released the report of Fall 2011 SART Outcomes.This document contains tables and charts illustrating what grantees reported about their operating organizations, budgets, services provided and outcomes at the local/program level in the Fall 2011 reporting period as well as trends over the last several periods. Collection of these data continues in the current Semi-Annual Reporting period.
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MFP-ADRC Partnership Development Webinar
The Administration on Aging and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have a partnership to lead transformation of long term services and supports systems through initiatives such as the Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRC) and Money Follows the Person (MFP) Rebalancing Demonstrations. This webinar explores the purpose of both ADRC and MFP and highlights state innovations in ADRC/MFP Partnerships.
A webinar will be held Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 3:00-4:00 pm ET. The call-in number is (877) 216-1555 and the code is: 686637. You can register for this call here.
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Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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CMS Announces Additional Funding for SHIPs
April 2, 2012
On Monday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that nearly $46.5 million for basic grant funding will be distributed to State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs). The fiscal year 2012 grant is a non-competitive continuation of the SHIP grant from the prior annual grant period. These grants are available to the 54 SHIP organizations in the United States and its territories. The funding is available to SHIPs for the grant year April 1, 2012 through March 31, 2013. These grants are the first of two rounds of funding to be distributed to SHIPs in fiscal year 2012.
Performance grants will be distributed to SHIPs in September based on their performance and accomplishments in the prior grant year. Performance award grant funding will allow SHIPs to expand and develop new strategies to strengthen their community-based networks.
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CMS Makes Improvements to Medicare Drug and Health Plans
April 2, 2012
On Monday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued final regulations for Medicare Advantage and prescription drug benefit programs to improve benefits and the quality of care for seniors and people with disabilities enrolled in these programs.
CMS announced the estimated growth rate for 2013 and other policies for its participating health and drug plans for Payment Year 2013. The Rate Announcement and Final Call Letter are combined into a single guidance document and establish updates to payment methodologies, other policies, and program operations for Part C organizations and Part D sponsors. The policies will become effective January 1, 2013, as required by law.
Highlights of the 2013 Rate Announcement and Final Call Letter include:
- An estimated annual growth rate of 3.07%, which will sustain a stable MA landscape for next year (2013);
- 2013 Part D Benefit Parameters, including improved coverage in the coverage gap;
- Guidance on limiting year-over-year cost increases for MA beneficiaries;
- New guidance to strengthen controls against prescription drug abuse.
The drug and health plan program updates, effective January 1, 2013, will help continue the trend of lower premiums and stable or improved benefits that beneficiaries in these programs have experienced over the last two years. Earlier this year, CMS announced that MA premiums had dropped 7 percent over the past year while enrollment increased by about 10 percent. Based on the 2013 policies announced today, CMS looks forward to retaining access to MA plans as an affordable option for people with Medicare and ensuring that drug and health plan sponsors are accountable to America's senior and disabled beneficiaries for improved quality of care and stable cost-sharing for the coming year.
Information on the final rule can be found here.
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New Medicaid Health Home Resources
Under the Affordable Care Act, the Medicaid Health Home State Plan Option allows states to develop health homes to coordinate the primary, acute, behavioral, and long-term and social service needs for beneficiaries with chronic conditions. As many states explore potential health home approaches, the Integrated Care Resource Center (ICRC) is sharing emerging best practices, such as the "At-a-Glance" Guide to Federal Medicaid Authorities Useful in Restructuring Medicaid Health Care Delivery or Payment technical assistance tool, which summarizes Federal authorities that may be useful in restructuring Medicaid health care delivery or payment, and that can be exercised through State Plan Amendments or waivers. It also highlights the flexibilities and limitations of each authority.
The ICRC is a national initiative of CMS to help states improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of care for Medicaid's high-need, high-cost beneficiaries. The state technical assistance activities are coordinated by Mathematica Policy Research and the Center for Health Care Strategies. For more information, visit http://www.integratedcareresourcecenter.com.
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Housing and Urban Development
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HUD Proposes Changes to Housing for Elderly and Persons With Disabilities Requirements
March 28, 2012
On March 28, HUD has proposed a rule to amend regulations governing the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program (Section 202) and the Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities Program (Section 811) by streamlining the requirements for mixed-finance Section 202 and Section 811 developments. Find more on the proposed rule here.
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Government Accountability Office
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GAO Updates State and Local Governments' Fiscal Outlook
April 2, 2012
On April 2, GAO released an updated analysis of the long-term fiscal position of the state and local government sector. Despite near-term improvement to state and local governments, this has only recently returned the sector's fiscal situation to the prerecession levels of 2007, and the sector still faces a gap between revenue and spending. Additionally, GAO found that the fiscal position of the sector will steadily decline through 2060 absent any policy changes.
In the long-term, GAO finds that the decline in the sector's operating balance is primarily driven by the rising health-related costs of state and local expenditures on Medicaid, and the cost of health care compensation for state and local government employees and retirees. Since most state and local governments are required to balance their operating budgets, the declining fiscal conditions shown in GAO's simulations suggest that the sector would need to make substantial policy changes to avoid growing fiscal imbalances in the future. That is, absent any intervention or policy changes, state and local governments would face an increasing gap between receipts and expenditures in the coming years. The report is available here.
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DOL Publishes New Data for WIA Funding Levels
The Department of Labor (DOL) published the new Lower Living Standard Income Level (LLSIL) for census regions and metropolitan areas. The LLSIL is used to determine funding levels under various WIA programs. The new LLSIL index and tables can be found here.
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Congress on Recess
Both chambers are currently on recess until April 16.
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| Surface Transportation Legislation Extended through June 2012
Last week, the House and Senate passed the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012 (H.R. 4281), a three-month extension of the surface transportation programs. On March 30, President Obama signed the stopgap measure into law, avoiding a lapse in spending authority for Highway Trust Fund programs, which was set to expire on March 31. This marks the ninth extension of legislation that originally expired September 30, 2009. Congress has had difficulty agreeing to a longer term extension of the programs, and negotiations for a longer-term reauthorization are expected to continue when the House and Senate return later this month. The bill text is available here.
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House Committee Leaders Releases WIA Reauthorization Proposal
March 29, 2012
On March 29, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-CA), and Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV) introduced the Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012 (HR 4297), the most recent comprehensive Workforce Investment Act (WIA) reauthorization bill to emerge from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the panel with immediate jurisdiction over the Act. The bill would consolidate 27 workforce and job training programs into one large Workforce Investment Fund that would provide formula funds to state and local workforce investment boards, and states would have the option to include vocational rehabilitation (VR) State Grants in the Fund. The full text of H.R. 4297 can be accessed here.
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Public Input Sought on Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
The Administration is seeking input on how the federal government can improve compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires all of the federal government's websites and electronic information to be accessible to people with disabilities. People can submit ideas, vote on existing ideas, or add comments on the |
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Senators request Increased OAA Funding for FY13
Last week, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, along with 17 of his Senate colleagues, submitted a letter to the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS), the panel with jurisdiction over Older Americans Act (OAA) funding, asking these appropriators to increase OAA program funding by at least 12 percent in FY13. In the letter, the Senators acknowledge the need for a stronger investment in the OAA, in part to offset years of stagnant funding and to address the pressures of population growth and inflation.
NASUAD applauds Sen. Sanders for leading this effort, as well as his fellow Senators for supporting this bold request. We also appreciate the ongoing work of NASUAD members and their partners throughout the Aging Network to highlight the critical need for adequate OAA funding in FY13 and beyond. The letter is available here.
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| Senators Request FY13 Funding for the Elder Justice Act
Also last week, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) was joined by six of his fellow Senators in his request for the maximum appropriation possible for the Elder Justice Act (EJA) in FY13. Highlighting the urgent need for federal funding to combat elder abuse and financial exploitation, the Senators note that for every 23.5 elder abuse cases, only one is reported, while only one of every 44 incidents of financial exploitation is reported. Given these troubling numbers, the Senators ask the leaders of the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee for their strong support for the programs authorized through the EJA since 2010, but for which funding has never been appropriated.
NASUAD remains supportive of efforts to secure EJA funding, and thanks Sen. Blumenthal and his colleagues for bringing this important issue to the attention of Senate appropriators as they work to craft FY13 spending bills. The letter is available here.
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NASUAD Submits Comments on DOL's Proposed Changes to the Companionship Exemption
On December 27, the Department of Labor (DOL) introduced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the current Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). DOL's proposed rule sought to narrow the "companionship exemption" under the FLSA by clarifying the services that constitute companionship, and by limiting the exemption to workers employed directly by households who provide primarily companionship services. On March 21, NASUAD submitted comments to DOL on these proposed changes.
The proposed rule is available here.
To view NASUAD's comments, please follow this link.
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NASUAD Submits Comments on the Draft National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease
Signed into law on January 4, 2011, the National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA) creates an important opportunity to build upon and leverage HHS programs and other federal efforts to help change the trajectory of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). In part, the law directs the Secretary of HHS to create and maintain a National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease.
Released in February, the first iteration of the Draft Plan is designed to address the major challenges presented by Alzheimer's Disease, and is structured around five ambitious goals:
- Prevent and Effectively Treat Alzheimer's Disease by 2025.
- Optimize Care Quality and Efficiency.
- Expand Supports for People with Alzheimer's Disease and Their Families.
- Enhance Public Awareness and Engagement.
- Track Progress and Drive Improvement.
The Draft National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease is available here.
To view NASUAD's comments, please follow this link.
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National Family Caregiver Alliance
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| New Report on Family Caregiving
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Kaiser Releases New Briefs on People Who Are Dually Eligible
About 9 million low-income seniors and younger people with disabilities in the United States are covered by both Medicare and Medicaid. For these beneficiaries, Medicare is the primary source of health insurance, and Medicaid provides supplemental coverage, helping with premiums, cost-sharing and paying for services not covered by Medicare. With complex and often costly health-care needs, dual-eligible beneficiaries are the focus of many policy proposals that aim to improve the coordination of their care in order to both raise its quality and lower spending.
Two newly updated Kaiser Family Foundation briefs provide an in-depth look at these dual-eligible beneficiaries and the role that each program plays in financing their care.
Medicare's Role for Dual-Eligible Beneficiaries examines overall and per-capita Medicare spending for these beneficiaries, including variations reflecting their diverse circumstances. It describes the characteristics of those with the relatively high and low Medicare costs and includes state-specific data on the share of Medicare beneficiaries who are dual-eligibles.
Medicaid's Role for Dual-Eligible Beneficiaries explains the role Medicaid plays in filling in the gaps in Medicare's coverage for dual-eligible beneficiaries. It explains how Medicare beneficiaries become eligible for Medicaid, provides national and state-by-state data on enrollment, and examines national and state-specific data on Medicaid spending for dual-eligibles by service and eligibility group.
The Foundation also has a broader collection of resources on dual-eligible beneficiaries, including not only basic facts and data, but also analysis and explanation of specific issues, including provisions of health reform affecting dual-eligible beneficiaries; issues affecting people with disabilities, those with multiple chronic conditions, and those with long-term care needs; and efforts to use managed care to serve this population. These resources are available online here.
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Alzheimer's Disease Numbers Rising
The Alzheimer's Association released a federal petition to the President calling for a clear federal commitment to change the course of Alzheimer's disease. The goal is to reach 250,000 signatures; currently close to 180,000 advocates have already signed. Following the launch of our petition the Obama Administration committed $156 million in new funding for Alzheimer's research, care, and support. And a draft National Alzheimer's Plan, released a few weeks later, is an important step forward.
The petition can be read and signed here.
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National Resource Center for Engaging Volunteers in the Aging Network
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National Resource Center for Engaging Volunteers in the Aging Network to Host Upcoming Webinars
The National Resource Center for Engaging Volunteers in the Aging Network is holding two webinar series. The first is intended for leaders in aging. This is a three-part series. The first part, "Understanding the Business Case for Increasing Investment in Skilled Volunteers" was held this Wednesday, April 4. The second part, "Getting your Organization Ready for Skilled Volunteers," will be held Wednesday, April 25, 2012 from 2:00-3:00 pm ET. Registration can be accessed here. The third part, "Developing Your Volunteer Engagement Plan: Steps to Get Started" will be held Wednesday, May 9, 2012 from 2:00-3:00 pm ET. Registration can be accessed here.
The second series is intended for volunteer program leaders. It is also a three-part series. The first part, "Making the Case for Volunteers: Convincing Leadership They're More Than Worth the Effort" will be held next Monday, April 9, 2012 from 2:00-3:00 pm ET. Registration can be accessed here. The second part, "Using Brain Science to Make your Volunteer Recruitment Appeals More Effective" will be held Wednesday, May 2, 2012 from 2:00-3:00 pm ET. Registration can be accessed here. The third part, "Meet Volunteers Where they're At: Designing an Onboarding Process that Catalyzes Commitment" will be held on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 from 2:00-3:00 pm ET. Registration can be accessed here.
More information on these series can be found here.
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IMS Institute for Healthcare Information
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Study Finds Seniors' Prescription Drug Use Down, and Young Adults' Up
April 4, 2012
A study released on Wednesday by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics found that per capita spending on medicine in the US grew by 0.5 percent in 2011. Young people, age 19-25, increased their use of prescription drugs as many for the first time were able to remain on their parents' health insurance, while seniors age 65 and over reduced their volume of prescriptions. Additionally, the availability of new generic drugs in a number of chronic therapies contributed to a minimal increase in drug expenditures overall. Total healthcare system spending on medicines reached $320 billion in 2011, up 0.5 percent on a real per capita basis.
These findings, and more, can be read here.
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National ADA Symposium Announced
The National ADA Symposium will be held May 30-June 1, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The symposium will feature training on the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design that went into effect March 15, 2012, cutting edge information on the ADA, incuding the new Department of Justice regulations, sessions on a wide-range of ADA related topics, sessions that meet ADA Coordinator Training Certification Program fundamental and elective credits, presenters from the U.S. Department of Justice, Access Board, the EEOC, National Center on Accessibility and the International Code Council, and affordable, quality training.
The session schedule and description can be found here.
Registration is still open here.
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National Resource Center on Nutrition and Aging
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National Resource Center on Nutrition and Aging 's Perspectives Challenge
We are standing at the precipice of a new era, shaped by the changing needs of our nation's aging population. By 2045, for the first time in human history, there will be more seniors than children in the world. Even as our current population strains our capacity to provide services and supports for older adults, we know that far greater challenges lie ahead. The new issues we face cut across industries, sectors and geographic boundaries - and so, too, must the solutions!
We want to hear from you. We're interested in learning about your solutions to the big and small challenges of America's aging population. Send us your promising ideas for addressing the challenges of today, tomorrow and our future. We invite you to think BIG and differently. And to share your Perspective - because it matters and can make a difference.
Participate in the National Resource Center on Nutrition and Aging's Perspectives Challenge and you could be selected to share your Perspective - either in person or virtually - at the Perspectives on Nutrition and Aging: A National Summit, on August 23, 2012, near Washington, DC.
Visit the Summit website to learn more and to register for the National Summit on Nutrition and Aging.
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Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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2012 County Health Rankings
April 3, 2012
On Tuesday, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released the 2012 county health rankings. The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program helps communities create solutions that make it easier for people to be healthy in their own communities, focusing on specific factors that we know affect health, such as education and income. Having health insurance and quality health care are important to our health, but we need leadership and action beyond health care.
Ranking the health of nearly every county in the nation, the County Health Rankings illustrate what we know when it comes to what's making people sick or healthy. The County Health Roadmaps show what we can do to create healthier places to live, learn, work and play. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation collaborates with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute to bring this groundbreaking program to cities, counties and states across the nation.
The 2012 data can be accessed here.
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National Senior Citizens Law Center
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NSCLC Launches New Website about Dual Eligible Demonstrations
The National Senior Citizens Law Center has launched a new website to provide aging and disability advocates the information and tools they need to ensure that models for delivering health and long term services and supports to dual eligibles (people with both Medicare and Medicaid) include strong consumer protections.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), as part of an initiative authorized by the Affordable Care Act, is currently working with states to design and implement new models for integrating the benefits and financing of both programs. As states build these new models, NSCLC believes that advocates for dual eligibles must be involved in this process.
The site will evolve over time with new postings and updates added weekly. Key features include:
- Advocate tools which provide specific recommendations on important topics like enrollment, appeals, financing and consumer protections.
- State profiles that describe the current status of demonstration proposals.
- A front page map that tells the user at a glance how many dual eligibles there are in each state and what type of care model is under consideration.
- A custom search engine that directs users to the most relevant information on the web.
- Federal guidance related to the dual eligible demonstrations.
- Recommended reading for advocates that are newer to the issue.
In addition, the site allows users to sign up to receive updates and related information from NSCLC about dual eligibles.
The site is part of NSCLC's project to ensure that new models for integrating care for dual eligibles or for converting Medicaid-funded long term services and supports into managed care include strong consumer protections.
The website can be accessed here.
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National Council on Aging
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Benefits Series Medicare Savings Program 101
The National Council on Aging (NCOA) held a training on the Medicare Savings Program. This training presents how MSPs can help individuals with Medicare premiums, help them get enrolled in the LIS/Extra Help program, and many other benefits.
A recording of the presentation can be accessed here.
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Older Adults Behavioral Health Technical Assistance Center
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Webinar on Depression, Anxiety, and Suicide Prevention
The Older Americans Behavioral Health Technical Assistance Center is holding a webinar on depression, anxiety, and suicide prevention on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 from 2:30-4:00 pm ET. This webinar offers a special opportunity to learn about critical behavioral health conditions and problems affecting older adults, including prescription medication misuse and abuse, suicide, depression, and anxiety and evidence-based prevention and treatment programs to address these problems. Speakers include Stephen Bartels, MD, MS, from Dartmouth Medical School; Nancy Wilson, LMSW, from Baylor College of Medicine; and Cheryl Pryor, MA-G, from Aging Resources of Central Iowa.
Registration can be accessed here.
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National Legal Resources Center
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Webinar: Abuse in Later Life: Responses, Resources, Collaborations
On April 11th, the National Legal Resources Center (NLRC) will present a webinar titled, "Abuse in Later Life: Responses, Resources, Collaborations". This webinar will provide an introduction for aging providers and advocates to the universe of domestic violence and sexual assault services and resources available for older victims, including screening, safety planning, legal and social service responses, and community collaborations.
The learning objectives of the webinar are:
- Understand abuse in later life as a subset of elder abuse
- Learn how to effectively screen and safety plan with every client
- Recognize services available to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in later life
- Identify potentially new community partners for collaboration and referral
Assistant Secretary Kathy Greenlee will provide an introduction to the webinar. Kathy has identified elder abuse as a key priority issue for the Administration on Aging, and she will set the stage for the webinar by providing perspective on the context and importance of the information to be presented. The Assistant Secretary will be joined by two guest speakers:
- Rebecca Henry, Deputy Chief Counsel, ABA Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence
- Bonnie Brandl, Director of the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL), a project of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WCADV).
This presentation is part of a series of National Elder Rights Training Project webinars produced for the NLRC by the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) . You may register here.
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Grant Title: Senior Corps Relinquishment Funds Grants: Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)
Agency Issuing Grant: Corporation for National and Community Service
Eligible Applicants: State governments and Nonprofit Organizations
Close Date: May 15, 2012
Funding Opportunity Number: CNCS-GRANTS-040412
CDFA Number: 94.002 -- Retired and Senior Volunteer Program
Grant Amount: $3,500,000 for 20 awards.
Description: Senior Corps awards grants to eligible organizations to engage people age 55 and over in service activities. CNCS will prioritize investment in the RSVP Program:
- New grants to operate in geographic areas where there are no longer projects due to grant relinquishment, as defined below.
- Grant augmentations to existing grantees to incorporate new Veterans, including Department of Labor (DOL) Vets activities and/or other veteran's and military families programming.
*A grant relinquishment is defined as a voluntary choice by a Senior Corps sponsor to discontinue using the Federal funding available to support the Senior Corps volunteers and volunteer services in their community.
Click here for more info on this funding opportunity.
Applicants must apply for this grant through CNCS' egrants System.
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