The reconciliation law that passed over the summer will cut more than $900 billion from Medicaid over the next decade. One of the tasks of the new Aging & Disability Health Policy Lab, a new nonpartisan initiative funded by The SCAN Foundation, will help states navigate those cuts and find the right policy solutions to help low-income older adults and people with disabilities maintain access to home- and community-based services. Tim Engelhardt, executive director of the lab and former director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office, talked to McKnight’s Home Care in December about the new lab and its initiatives in a Newsmakers podcast.
The SCAN Foundation has committed nearly $8 million over three years for the Aging & Disability Health Policy Lab, a nonprofit endeavor that will focus on advancing public policies at both the state and federal level to help improve access to care for low-income older adults and people with disabilities, Tim Engelhardt, executive director of the lab, said. Among the public policy work the lab will address on the state and federal levels are improving the healthcare system’s cost and complexity — two issues that often prevent older adults and people with disabilities from accessing care. In particular, the lab aims to streamline enrollment processes. He cited Virginia, where those who receive Supplemental Social Income (SSI) have to apply separately for Medicaid. This administrative burden taxes applicants, their families and government officials, he said. A total of 12 million people in this country are dual-eligible — on Medicare and Medicaid. This heterogeneous group consists of low-income older adults and people with disabilities who have, on average, high rates of disability and chronic illness and need significant supports to live in the community. About half of people in HCBS programs are dually eligible, he noted.
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Show contributors:
McKnight’s Home Care Editor Liza Berger; Tim Engelhardt, executive director, Aging & Disability Health Policy Lab