Affordable Care Act
Grants to Help Seniors, Caregivers Meet Health, Long-Term Care Needs
$68 million in
grants to support community living for senior citizens and individuals
with disabilities
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Sept. 27, 2010 -
The Administration on Aging and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services will administer $68 million in new grants created by the
Affordable Care Act to help senior citizens and caregivers better
understand and navigate health and long-term care options.
The grants are
going to states, territories, tribal and community-based organizations.
Specifically, the funds will be used to help families:
● understand their Medicare and Medicaid benefits, including coverage
for preventive services;
● navigate options for long term care including community-based
services that can help individuals remain in their homes; and
● assist those transitioning from nursing or rehabilitation
facilities back home to put the supports in place to make that
transition successful.
'Health care overhaul creates a three-year Medicare
demonstration project to test the home visit concept on 10,000 of the
sickest, most-expensive-to-treat Medicare enrollees
These grants are
being administered by AoA and CMS, both agencies within HHS. Both have
provided grants to states for several years to develop person-centered,
integrated systems of information and counseling to help individuals
learn about and access their health and long-term services and support
options.
We know how
difficult it can be for individuals and caregivers to deal with a sudden
illness or chronic disease while at the same time trying to navigate
through a complex health care system to figure out where to go to get
appropriate help, said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, when announcing
the grants today.
The Affordable
Care Act seeks to give people more control over their own care, while
lowering health care costs and improving quality.
The grants
complement President Obamas Community Living Initiative, which focuses
on better serving those individuals with disabilities who need ongoing
services and support programs in the community such as those provided by
AoA, CMS and other HHS agencies, according to the HHS announcement.
Funds were
available for states, area agencies on aging, State Health Insurance
Assistance Programs; Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) and
tribal organizations through a competitive as well as formula
process. Grantees will focus on four areas to support seniors,
individuals with disabilities and family caregivers:
● Medicare
Outreach and Assistance in Low Income Programs and Prevention Grants:
50 states and territories and 125 tribal organizations have been funded
to provide outreach and assistance to Medicare beneficiaries on their
benefits, including coverage for preventive services. Additionally, $5
million goes to the National Center for Benefits Outreach and Enrollment
for technical assistance. (http://www.centerforbenefits.org/)
● ADRC
Options Counseling Grants:
20 states funded to strengthen Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs)
Options Counseling and Assistance Programs for community-based health
and long-term care services. Options counseling programs help people
understand, evaluate, and manage the full range of services and supports
available in their community.
● ADRC
Nursing Home Transition through Money Follows the Person Grants:
24 states funded to strengthen the ADRCs role in the CMS Money Follows
the Person program and support state Medicaid agencies as they
transition individuals from nursing homes to community-based care.
● Evidence
Based Care Transition Grants:
16 states funded to coordinate and continue to encourage evidence-based
care transition models which help older persons or persons with
disabilities remain in their own homes after a hospital, rehabilitation
or skilled nursing facility stay. These grants will help break the
cycle of readmission to the hospital that occurs when an individual is
discharged into the community without the social services and supports
they need.
When it comes
to long-term health care, each patient has a unique mix of medical and
social needs that must be considered, said Dr. Donald Berwick, CMS
Administrator.
Our health care
system can offer many options to meeting those needs from traditional
nursing home care to home and community-based services. Helping
patients and their families understand these options will help them make
informed decisions about long-term care that are in the patients best
interests. These grants will help families make informed decisions and
make sure patients have more control over their own care.
AoAs national
network of state, tribal and community-based organizations has long
served as the central, trusted resource for individuals and families
seeking information to address health and long-term care challenges.
These grants will further strengthen the networks capacity to help
people in a more comprehensive way in the communities where they live,
said Kathy Greenlee, assistant secretary for aging.
The announcement
combines funding opportunities from several provisions in the Affordable
Care Act signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010, including
the Role of Public Programs (Title II, Sections 2403 Money Follows the
Person and 2405 Funding for Aging and Disability Resource Centers) and
Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Health Care (Title III. Section
3306 - Funding for Outreach and Assistance for Low-Income Programs).
For more
information about the Administration on Aging and its programs and
services, please visit:
www.aoa.gov. For more information about the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services, please visit
www.cms.gov.
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