Industry News
Industry News
The American Rescue Plan FMAP Increase for HCBS
The recently enacted American Rescue Plan includes a provision to increase the federal match rate for services by up to 10% for Medicaid HCBS expenditures between April 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022. This provision offers states an immediate opportunity to “enhance, expand, or strengthen” HCBS for seniors and persons with disabilities.
PPL’s Home Care Consulting Team provided information to help states use the FMAP increase with states and MCOs invited to share ideas.
If you were unable to join the live-event on March 30, 2021 you can access more information about the American Rescue Plan changes for FMAP increases to HCBS here!
PPL White Paper, "Appendix K Analysis"
Co-authored by Suzanne Crisp and David Horvath
Self-direction is a proven approach to reducing program participants’ and their families' anxiety to secure safe in-home care from someone they know and trust. This paper examines self-direction and its impact on reducing the threat of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
It focuses on state Appendix K submissions to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to ensure continuity of services by requesting immediate temporary changes to §1915(c) waivers. States asked for modifications to add, expand, suspend, delay, or relax specific program policies to ensure services are accessible and that adequate staffing is available.
COVID Spurs Families to Shun Nursing Homes, a Shift That Appears Long Lasting
The pandemic is reshaping the way Americans care for their elderly, prompting family decisions to avoid nursing homes and keep loved ones in their own homes for rehabilitation and other care.
Americans have long relied on institutions to care for the frailest seniors. The U.S. has the largest number of nursing-home residents in the world. But families and some doctors have been reluctant to send patients to such facilities, fearing infection and isolation in places ravaged by Covid-19, which has caused more than 115,000 deaths linked to U.S. long-term-care institutions.
Caregiver News: The Unpaid Caregiver Dilemma and Why It Matters
Many of the strategies for improving the U.S. health and human service system are based on moving more consumers with chronic conditions and complex support needs to home-based care that is tech-enabled and supported by unpaid caregivers. There are two big assumptions here. First, that there is stable housing for this population, the second assumption is that there is a supply of willing and able unpaid caregivers for these consumers.
If you look at the numbers, these assumptions are problematic.
There are 53 million unpaid caregivers in the U.S. today—that’s one in five Americans—that have provided care to an adult or child with special needs at some time in the past 12 months.
Long-Term Care News
In a recent news, this article demonstrates how “the COVID-19 crisis has shone a harsh light on the human costs of a long-term care system that relies too heavily on institutional services like nursing homes.” Long-term care home based options are clearly destined to grow.
Learn more about the efforts top Medicare and Medicaid officials are driving to boost the home and community-based services in response to this devastating pandemic crises.