Public Policy & Action

• Federal Budget
• Older Americans Act Reauthorization
• Long-Term Services & Supports
• Elder Justice
• Advocacy Toolkit

Resources

For Professionals

• President Releases Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Proposal
• Next Steps in the Federal Budget Debate
• Federal Budget Debates Leave Falls Prevention Funding Hanging
• Side-by-Side Comparison of House and Senate FY14 Budget Resolutions
• Balancing Incentive Program: Highlighting State Approaches and Progress
• Immigration Reform: Key Issues for Older Adults, Individuals with Disabilities, and Home and Community-Based Services - Past Event

For Older Adults and Caregivers

• Fiscal Cliff Deal: What It Means for Seniors

For Advocates

• President Releases Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Proposal
• Next Steps in the Federal Budget Debate
• Development of the Home and Community Based Services Experience Survey - Past Event
• Preventing Funding Cuts for Healthy Aging Programs: What You Can Do to Help - Past Event

Advocacy Toolkit: Long-Term Services & Supports

Due to state budget shortfalls, Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) are facing significant cuts in many states.

At the same time, there are many new options for states to receive additional federal funding to improve these services for seniors and individuals with disabilities.

5 Steps to Protect and Strengthen Medicaid HCBS in Your State

1. Connect with HCBS advocates online.
    Join the HCBS group on our online community Crossroads. Listen to past webinars, hear what other states are doing, and share ideas and strategies with fellow advocates. 

2. Understand Medicaid HCBS
   Listen to webinars from NCOA and the Friday Morning Collaborative 
   Read a fact sheet from the Kaiser Family Foundation: Medicaid and Long-Term Care Services and Supports (March 2011)

3. Learn More about State Budgets
   Read a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on how States Continue to Feel Recession’s Impact. (January 2011)
   Discover new facts from AARP in Weathering the Storm: The Impact of the Great Recession on Long-Term Services and Supports. (January 2011)

4. Make Arguments against Medicaid Cuts
   Get Five Good Reasons Why States Shouldn't Cut Home and Community-Based Servicesin Medicaid from Families USA. (July 2010)
   Learn Why Medicaid Matters to Medicare Beneficiaries and their Families from the Medicare Rights Center (March 2011)

5. Help Your State Get Additional Federal Funding for HCBS
   Learn how to use the new Balance Incentive Payments Program.
   Find out how to get your state to use the Community First Choice Option.

want to live in a country where

older adults don't have to choose between paying for medicine or food.