AARP Solutions Forum Convenes Panel To Examine Medicaid Funding Of Long-Term Care

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Caregivers / Homecare
Article Date: 05 Jul 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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AARP will release a new report and convene a panel of experts to discuss Medicaid funding for long-term care (LTC) for older adults and adults with physical disabilities. The report analyzes the progress states are making shifting public funds and the people who rely on them from nursing homes to home and community based services.

Approximately 10 million older Americans need assistance with every day activities. Overwhelmingly, people (87 percent) prefer to receive this care in their homes or communities rather than in nursing homes. Few Americans have planned for the cost of LTC and by default Medicaid, which has an institutional bias towards nursing home care, is the primary payer.

The Solutions Forum will explore: How some states are making progress by providing LTC services in a way that allows older people to remain in their homes or communities with independence, choice and control. What federal barriers need to be removed to help assure that people can get the care they need in the setting of their choice? What is unique about this report is its primary focus on older people and adults with physical disabilities separate from other long-term care populations, such as people with developmental disabilities.

WHAT:
AARP Public Policy Institute Solutions Forum: LTC Reform: Transitioning to Home and Community Based Services-- How Well Are States Doing?

WHO:
- Susan Reinhard, Senior Vice President, AARP Public Policy Institute - Dennis W. Streets, Director, North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services
- Tara Larson, Chief Clinical Operations Officer, Medicaid Division, North Carolina
- Leslie Clement, Administrator, Medicaid Division, Idaho
- Donna Folkemer, Group Director, Forum for State Health Policy Leadership, National Conference of State Legislatures

WHEN:
July 11, 2008
12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m. EST

WHERE:
Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel, Washington, DC
415 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001
Please RSVP to AARP Media Relations at 202-434-2560 or media@aarp.org.

www.aarp.org