Aging & Disability

This study is a follow-up to earlier research conducted with 2006 and 2009 Medicaid (MAX) data on interstate variations on the extent of the "re-balancing" of Medicaid long-term services and supports (LTSS) from nursing home care toward greater reliance on home and community-based services (HCBS).

A growing number of programs to help persons with dementia and their family caregivers are being developed, tested, and implemented in the United States. To learn more about whether and how models of dementia care meet practice standards, 14 components of comprehensive dementia care were identified and site visits conducted to a small sample of programs to assess how they are implemented.

This issue brief examines concerns individuals have about becoming disabled and needing long-term services and supports (LTSS), how these concerns vary by household income and assets, what actions people are willing to take to address their LTSS needs, and how homeowners who are willing to use home equity to finance LTSS differ from those who are not willing.

Previous research demonstrates that lack of planning for the potential need for long-term services and supports (LTSS) is associated with lack of knowledge about these services. People who do not have a firm understanding of their longevity risks, probability of needing and using LTSS, and the associated costs for services may be less likely to plan for their future LTSS needs.

Long-term services and supports (LTSS) are expensive. The average private pay cost of a private room nursing home stay in 2014 was about $88,000 a year. Although this cost is insurable through private long-term care (LTC) insurance, coverage is low.

Despite the high costs for long-term services and supports (LTSS), the current financing system inadequately protects people from the financial devastation of long-term disabling conditions such as Alzheimer's disease or stroke. Private long-term care (LTC) insurance coverage is low and Medicare does not cover LTSS.

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In 2012, AoA awarded 5 cooperative agreements to test elder abuse prevention interventions to: Alaska Division of Senior and Disabilities Services (AK DSDS); New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA); University of Southern California-Irvine, Program in Geriatrics (USC); University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSC); and, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and

To assess the financial impact on families of LTSS needs and the potential for families to set aside funds to cover future LTSS spending, this brief examines later-life household wealth before and after disability onset.

This brief assesses the adequacy of the income allowances granted to older Medicaid HCBS enrollees and their spouses.