While states are making measureable progress
\nin improving long-term services and supports
\n(LTSS) – which includes home care services,
\nfamily caregiver supports, and residential
\nservices such as nursing homes – widespread
\ndisparities still exist across the country, with
\neven top performing states requiring improvement,
\naccording to the AARP.<\/p>\n
Further, the pace of change remains slow,
\nthreatening states’ ability to meet the needs of
\nthe aging population, the study said.<\/p>\n
Raising Expectations: A State Scorecard on
\nLong-Term Services and Supports for Older
\nAdults, People with Physical Disabilities and
\nFamily Caregivers, evaluates 26 indicators in
\nfive key dimensions that make up the LTSS
\nsystem in each state. The state-by-state report
\nupdates the inaugural 2011 LTSS Scorecard,
\naccording to AARP.<\/p>\n
The highest ranked states – Minnesota,
\nWashington, Oregon, Colorado – can offer lessons
\nfor possible solutions, but they too have
\nopportunities for improvement, the study said.
\nLeading states have implemented laws and
\npolicies that build stronger Medicaid programs
\nand support family caregivers.<\/p>\n
These laws include paid sick leave, nurse
\ndelegation of health maintenance tasks, and
\ndevoting more Medicaid dollars to home and
\ncommunity based services. Top states also
\nhave lower use of nursing homes and minimize
\ndisruptive transitions between care settings,
\nproviding lessons for lower-ranked states.<\/p>\n
“Americans want to live independently in
\ntheir homes and communities as they age,” said
\nAARP Senior Vice President for Public Policy
\nSusan Reinhard. “States are starting to step up
\nto meet this challenge, but more must be done
\nin a short time to meet the changing needs of
\na growing older population.<\/p>\n
“By addressing the findings in the Scorecard,
\nstates have the power to affect positive change
\nboth immediately and in the long run so older
\nresidents and their family caregivers can access
\nthe quality long-term services and supports
\nthey require.”<\/p>\n
The LTSS Scorecard evaluates performance
\nin five key dimensions: affordability and access,
\nchoice of setting and provider, quality of life
\nand quality of care, support for family caregivers,
\nand effective transitions.<\/p>\n
Officials said new indicators this year
\ninclude length of stay in nursing homes and
\nuse of anti-psychotic drugs by nursing homes,
\nraising serious concerns about the quality of
\ninstitutionalized care.<\/p>\n
Even facing tight budgets following the
\nGreat Recession, all states made progress in
\nat least one of the Scorecard’s 26 indicators.<\/p>\n
According to the study, more than half of the
\nstates (29) improved their laws and supports
\nfor family caregivers – including expanding
\nfamily and medical leave requirements and
\nlaws requiring sick days, and allowing nurses
\nto delegate health maintenance tasks to home
\ncare workers – and, 28 states improved the
\nfunctioning of Aging and Disability Resource
\nCenters, which help residents navigate available
\nservices and supports. At the same time,
\nthe cost of LTSS remains unaffordable for
\nmiddle income families.<\/p>\n
The single strongest predictor of overall
\nLTSS system performance is the reach of a
\nstate’s Medicaid LTSS safety net. Nearly half
\nthe states (24) increased the percentage of Medicaid LTSS dollars that support home and
\ncommunity-based services – the care setting
\nthat most Americans prefer. However, widespread
\ndisparity exists across the states on this
\nimportant indicator. While the five top-ranked
\nstates dedicate 62.5 percent of Medicaid LTSS
\ndollars to HCBS, the lowest-ranking five only
\ndevote 16.7 percent.<\/p>\n
“The report underscores the importance of
\npublic policies, including those that support
\nproviding care for people in their own homes
\nand communities,” said Melinda K. Abrams,
\nvice president for health care delivery system
\nreform at The Commonwealth Fund. “Without
\nstrengthening such services, we put millions of
\nfrail elderly and disabled at risk for frequent
\nemergency room visits, hospital stays or poor
\nquality of care.”<\/p>\n
Further, states with more effective transitions
\n– both those that help people move out of
\ninstitutions and back to the community as well
\nas those between care settings – performed
\nbetter overall in the Scorecard.<\/p>\n
The Scorecard’s authors warn of the demographic
\nimperative to hasten progress. “In just
\n12 years, the leading edge of the Baby Boom
\nGeneration will enter its 80s, placing new
\ndemands on the LTSS system. This generation,
\nand those that follow, will have far fewer
\npotential family caregivers to provide unpaid
\nhelp,” the report said.<\/p>\n
“This scorecard shows that all states have
\nwork to do on improving their systems of care,
\nincluding assessing people’s needs in a uniform
\nway, helping people transition back home
\nafter a medical intervention, and increasing
\nthe affordability of services regardless of who
\npays,” said Bruce Chernof, president and CEO
\nof the SCAN Foundation. “As recognized by last
\nyear’s federal Commission on Long-Term Care,
\nthe responsibility for realizing these kinds of
\nimprovements means greater action by both
\nstate and federal leaders.”<\/p>\n
The full LTSS State Scorecard, along with an
\ninteractive map of state rankings and information,
\nis available at www.longtermscorecard.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
While states are making measureable progress in improving long-term services and supports (LTSS) – which includes home care services, family caregiver supports, and residential services such as nursing homes – widespread disparities still exist across the country, with even…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[47,82,102],"yoast_head":"\r\n