New AARP Report

Dear
Colleague:



Thought you'd be interested in a report released today by AARP's Public
Policy Institute that finds older Americans have limited access to home and
community-based services under Medicaid.

New AARP Report Finds Older Americans Have Limited Access to

Home and Community-Based Services under Medicaid

WASHINGTON—A new report
by AARP’s Public Policy Institute finds promising signs and mixed results
among state government efforts to balance long-term care (LTC) options under
Medicaid. Unfortunately, according to the report, only four states spent more
than 50 percent of their Medicaid LTC dollars for older people providing home
and community based services (HCBS). The remainder of the states continues to
spend the majority of their Medicaid LTC dollars for older people on
institutional care, such as nursing homes.

The report, A
Balancing Act: State Long-Term Care Reform, is the first to examine
Medicaid spending on long-term care for older people and adults with physical
disabilities, separate from other LTC users such as people with mental
retardation/developmental disabilities (MR/DD).

Nationally, 75 percent
of Medicaid LTC spending for older people and adults with physical
disabilities pays for institutional care in nursing homes. In contrast,
states have done a much better job balancing Medicaid LTC for people with
MR/DD, spending just 39 percent on institutional care. The majority of funds
now supports people in home and community-based settings.