Profiles of State Innovation Series Highlights Critical Opportunities to Overhaul the Nation's Long-Term Care Delivery System

Roadmaps showcase state best practices to improve services and control costs for millions of Americans with long-term care needs

LONG BEACH, Calif. and HAMILTON, N.J., Nov. 22, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Through support from The SCAN Foundation, the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) is today releasing a set of Profiles of State Innovation Roadmaps that synthesize lessons from states for better managing the complex array of long-term services and supports (LTSS).  

Medicaid currently covers more than 40 percent of the nation's long-term care needs. Yet close to 95 percent of beneficiaries needing long-term care are in fragmented fee-for-service programs, including a disproportionate number in institutions rather than consumer-preferred home-and community-based options. Overhauling the delivery of Medicaid LTSS offers significant opportunities to improve health care quality, control costs, and enhance quality of life for millions of Americans. Particularly now, the Affordable Care Act offers new incentives for states to improve LTSS delivery.

"Using successful state innovations of long-term care as a model for future reform will make the system more efficient and enable individuals to age where they want and how they want, with dignity and independence," said Bruce Chernof, MD, president and CEO of The SCAN Foundation.  

To develop the roadmaps, CHCS analyzed state best practices across three key areas: (1) rebalancing LTSS to provide more home-and community-based options instead of institutional care; (2) designing managed LTSS programs; and (3) integrating care for adults who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. The resulting roadmaps outline key mileposts for successfully designing programs in each of these areas.

"This series is a real opportunity to share best practices from pioneering states that are pushing program design boundaries to transform care for this critical, yet often overlooked population," said Stephen A. Somers, PhD, CHCS president.

The Profiles of State Innovation Roadmaps and related resources to help Medicaid stakeholders design more effective long-term care delivery models are available at www.TheSCANFoundation.org and www.chcs.org.

SOURCE The SCAN Foundation

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