Your determined advocacy can be the difference between going-through-the-motions nursing home care, and the high quality, person-centered care that residents are promised by federal law.
California implemented several significant changes in its Medi-Cal program that impacted low-income older adults and people with disabilities. These changes include those that are part of California’s five-year initiative, California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), and federal policies from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Together, these policies are intended to improve health […]
The In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program is a Medi-Cal program in California that pays for in-home care for people with disabilities, including children, adults, and seniors. The purpose of this vital program is to provide services and supports that help people remain safely in their homes and living in the community. Justice in Aging is […]
States require managed care plans who serve Medicaid enrollees to establish and maintain an internal grievance and appeal and fair hearing system. As states begin to incorporate new federal regulations into their Medicaid rules, there’s opportunity for advocates to help shape those rules to ensure that older adults and people with disabilities have equal access […]
New Advocacy Guide: Oral Health for Older Adults in California Oral health affects overall health – this is particularly true for older adults. Yet, access to oral health treatment is limited and complicated by factors such as lack of dental coverage, complicated rules, and lack of dental providers. To assist California advocates in connecting their […]
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)—a need-based program administered by the Social Security Administration – provides a very basic income to over 8.2 million people, including 2.2 million seniors age 65+. As more seniors struggle to make ends meet in today’s economy, getting access to SSI can help low-income seniors escape deep poverty and avoid or move […]
The Coordinated Care Initiative (CCI)—including California's dual eligible demonstration project Cal MediConnect—is well underway in all seven CCI counties including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. There have been significant changes to the CCI since the release of Version Five of Justice in Aging's Advocates Guide to California's […]
California is the largest of nine states currently participating in a financial alignment demonstration that allows states to enroll dually eligible individuals into integrated health plans responsible for delivering both the Medicare and Medicaid benefits. The California demonstration, called Cal MediConnect, has been implemented concurrently with California's decision to move the delivery of long-term services […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released long-awaited guidance for states and stakeholders on the use of managed care for long-term services and supports (LTSS). The guidance consists of two documents, each of which sets forth 10 elements that CMS believes should be incorporated into managed LTSS (MLTSS) programs. – November 2014
Action Steps for Consumers and Advocates Regarding the New Home Care Rule: How to Prevent Service Cuts and Protect Consumer-Directed Programs provides steps that consumers and advocates should take in their states to ensure proper implementation of new federal rule. – September 2014
