Public Policy & Action

• Federal Funding for Seniors Programs
• Older Americans Act
• Long-Term Services & Supports
  • Medicaid HCBS Webinars
  • Duals Integration
• Health Care Reform
• Our Positions
• Advocacy Toolkit

Resources

For Professionals

• 5 Key Facts Must Inform the Medicare Reform Debate
• SCSEP Targeted in Workforce Investment Act Proposal
• Senators to Voice their Support for OAA Reauthorization at Capitol Hill Briefing
• Missing from the Presidential Debate: Long-Term Care
• Long-Term Services & Supports: Candidate Survey
• Managed Long-Term Services and Supports: Overview of Key Issues and Guiding Principles
• State Advocate Experiences and Engagement in Duals Integration

For Older Adults and Caregivers

• Long-Term Services & Supports: Candidate Survey
• Straight Talk for Seniors™

For Advocates

• 5 Key Facts Must Inform the Medicare Reform Debate
• SCSEP Targeted in Workforce Investment Act Proposal
• Preventing Funding Cuts for Healthy Aging Programs: What You Can Do to Help

Long-Term Services & Supports

Few of us dream of spending our later years in a nursing home. Yet millions of older adults do—simply because they can’t get or pay for the care they need at home.

We’re leading a national, collaborative effort between the aging and disability organizations to make it easier for individuals to get help with daily living—right in their own homes and communities.

• Listen to our webinars.
• Use our toolkit to understand and protect Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS).
• Join our online community of HCBS advocates nationwide.

What are LTSS?

Long-term services and supports (LTSS) help older adults and people with disabilities accomplish everyday tasks that many of us take for granted. Tasks like bathing, getting dressed, fixing meals, and managing a home.

As our population ages, the number of individuals needing this kind of help is projected to double. Long-term services and supports allow millions of individuals to live healthy, secure, and independent.

Protecting LTSS for People in Need

NCOA leads a national coalition of aging and disability organizations, called the Friday Morning Collaborative, which is working to protect LTSS for those who need it.

The collaborative helped ensure that the Affordable Care Act includes provisions to expand LTSS through Medicaid and other programs. Now, we’re working to make sure that these provisions are put in place in states nationwide.

• See members of the Friday Morning Collaborative.

LTSS in Health Reform

The Affordable Care Act includes several provisions that will make it easier for people to access LTSS. Learn more about these programs:

• Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS)
  CLASS is a new voluntary, federally administered, consumer-financed, long-term care insurance program established under the Affordable Care Act.
• Money Follows the Person
  MFP gives states an enhanced federal Medicaid match to help people transition from a nursing home or other institution back into the community.
• Balance Incentive Payments Program
  Starting in October 2011, eligible states can apply for federal grants to direct more funds to community-based care instead of institutions.
• Community First Choice Option
  Starting in October 2011, states can choose to provide a broad range of personal attendant services and supports to eligible individuals and receive additional federal funding.
• Medicaid HCBS State Plan Option
  States have gained greater flexibility with this Medicaid state plan option thanks to health reform.
• Duals Integration
  The ACA established a new Medicare-Medicaid Coordination office that has issued guidance and awarded design contracts to 15 states to improve integration of care for individuals who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.

want to live in a country where

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