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| Home > Newsletters > Caregiving PolicyDigest > Volume X, Number 10, May 19, 2010
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| A newsletter of FCA's National Center on Caregiving |
May 19, 2010
Volume X, Number 10
NOTE: The next issue
of Caregiving PolicyDigest will be
sent June 9, 2010.
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IN THIS ISSUE
State Legislation, Policy & Reports
- Arizona: Court Order Issued in Medicaid HCBS Class Action Case More...
- Pennsylvania: Bill Would Expand Family Caregiver Support Program More...
Federal Legislation, Policy & Reports
- "Parsing the New Law on Long-Term Care" More...
- Paper Explains CLASS Act Basics More...
International News
- Korea: "Baby Boomers by the Numbers" More...
Research Reports & Journal Articles
- Report: End-of-Life-Choices: Who Decides? More...
- Health Affairs Focuses on Primary Care More...
Conferences & Trainings
- Webinar: Respite in the Faith Community More...
Funding, Media & Miscellaneous
- Apply Now for Innovations in Alzheimer's Disease Caregiving Legacy Awards More...
- Rosalynn Carter Institute Accepting Applications for Mattie J.T. Stepanek Caregiving Scholarships More...
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Arizona: Court Order Issued in Medicaid HCBS Class Action Case
A court order was
recently issued in a long-running Medicaid class action law suit in Arizona affecting home
and community-based services. A U.S.
District Court Judge ruled that Arizona's
Medicaid program failed to follow the court's prior orders by not implementing a statewide hotline
for beneficiaries to report gaps in critical home care services and by failing to require its program contractors to
have backup workers on call to substitute for times when a gap
in critical services occurs. The
original class action lawsuit, filed in 2000, alleged that the Arizona Health
Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) was not providing consumers with adequate
home and community-based services that make it possible to live in the
community rather than be forced into a nursing home. For more information, visit:
PHI
Pennsylvania: Bill Would Expand Family Caregiver Support Program
On April 28, 2010, Pennsylvania Representative Phyllis Mundy
held a press conference calling on the state Senate to pass her bill, H.B. 245,
which would amend the state's Family Caregiver Support Program. The bill, which passed the House in March
2009, would expand the definition of a caregiver eligible for services beyond a
relative to include anyone who is the primary person responsible for providing
care to a functionally dependent older adult or adult with dementia, including
a neighbor or friend. By mirroring the
requirements in the federal Family Caregiver Support Program, this bill aims to
reflect the reality of caregiving situations, as well as to eliminate the
current waiting list for caregiver services. In addition, the bill would
increase the reimbursement limit for caregiving-related expenses from $200 to
$500 and the lifetime grant limit for home modification and assistive devices
from $2,000 to $6,000. This would be the first adjustment to these rates since
the creation of Pennsylvania's
program almost 20 years ago. Rep. Mundy
was joined at the press conference by several groups, including the
Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging, the Greater Pennsylvania
and Delaware Valley chapters of the Alzheimer's
Association and AARP Pennsylvania.
For more information, visit:
Rep. Phyllis Mundy Press Release Pennsylvania Legislature
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"Parsing the New Law on Long-Term Care"
An article in the New York Times on May 3, 2010 called on
experts to answer frequently asked questions about the CLASS Act, the provision
in health care reform which establishes a national, voluntary long-term care
insurance program. The experts answered
questions related to who is eligible, when it will start, what it will provide,
and how it will be paid for. For more
information, visit:
New York Times
Paper Explains CLASS
Act Basics
The Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities released a brief paper in April which describes the need
for the CLASS Act - the provision in health care reform which establishes a
national, voluntary long-term care insurance program. The paper explains the new program's benefits
and financing, and it corrects some misconceptions about its effect on the
federal budget. It points out that
neither private health insurance nor Medicare cover basic long-term care
services, and private long-term care insurance tends to be quite expensive with
limited benefits. For more information,
visit:
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
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Korea: "Baby Boomers by the Numbers"
According to news
reports, a new publication from Statistics Korea, The Past, Present and Future of Baby Boomers as Seen Through the
Numbers, describes a generation of Koreans who "face the daunting task
of supporting their elderly parents and helping their children, who struggle
with high unemployment and prohibitively expensive housing." According to the statistics, many baby
boomers spend money to support their aging parents and children, at the expense
of saving for retirement. Having
invested heavily in real estate, many of these boomers face financial hardship
in their retirement. For more
information, visit:
JoongAng Daily
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Report: End-of-Life-Choices:
Who Decides?
The Older Women's League (OWL) recently released its 12th
annual Mother's Day report, End-of-Life-Choices: Who Decides?, which calls
for a broad range of changes "to promote and protect autonomy and control
in end-of-life decision making and ensure a dignified death for each of
us." The report includes
recommendations for legislators, public health agencies, nonprofit organizations,
community advocates and healthcare providers.
For more information, visit:
Older Women's League
Health Affairs Focuses on Primary
Care
The May 2010 issue of
Health Affairs (Volume 29, Number 5)
focuses on "Reinventing Primary Care." This issue includes articles on "The
Urgency of Preparing Primary Care Physicians to Care for Older People with
Chronic Illnesses" and "The Multi-Stakeholder Movement for Primary
Care Renewal and Reform." In
addition, Debra Ness and Christine Bechtel, both from the National Partnership
for Women and Families and its Campaign for Better Care, wrote an article
called "If You Build It, Will They Come? Designing Truly Patient-Centered
Health Care," which focuses on what consumers really want - including
comprehensive communication and coordination, input and empowerment. For more information, visit:
Health Affairs
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Webinar: Respite in the Faith Community
ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center, through
its Technical Assistance Center for Lifespan Respite, is hosting a webinar June
3, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time called "Respite in the Faith
Community." Intended for state
Lifespan Respite Grantees and stakeholders, State Respite Coalitions, respite
providers, family caregivers and other public and private organizations
interested in respite, this webinar will explore some of the history of
faith-based respite, as well as recent innovations in how the faith-based
community supports family caregivers. For more information, visit:
ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center
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Apply Now for Innovations in Alzheimer's Disease
Caregiving Legacy Awards
The National Center
on Caregiving (NCC) at Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) is now accepting
applications for the Rosalinde Gilbert Innovations in Alzheimer's Disease
Caregiving Legacy Awards. Three awards of $20,000 each will be made to
organizations whose unique programs address the needs of Alzheimer's caregivers
in three categories. One award will be granted in Creative Expression, one in
Diverse/Multicultural Communities and one in Policy and Advocacy. The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation
provides support for this awards program, now in its third year. The deadline
to apply is August 12, 2010. For more information, visit:
Family Caregiver Alliance
Rosalynn Carter Institute Accepting Applications for
Mattie J.T. Stepanek Caregiving Scholarships
The Rosalynn Carter
Institute for Caregiving is now accepting applications for the Mattie J.T.
Stepanek Caregiving Scholarships. Four
$2,500 scholarships will be awarded to family, professional, or
paraprofessional caregivers of any age who are seeking training or education in
specific skills, procedures and strategies that lead to more effective
care. The deadline to apply is June 1,
2010. For more information, visit:
Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving
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To find caregiver support services in your state, visit FCA's Family Care Navigator http://caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/fcn_content_node.jsp?nodeid=2083
?2010 Family Caregiver Alliance. All rights reserved.
The National Center on Caregiving at Family Caregiver Alliance works to advance the development of high-quality and cost-effective policies and programs for caregivers in every state in the country. The National Center is a central source of information and technical assistance on family caregiving for policymakers, health and service providers, program developers, funders, media and families. For questions or further information about the National Center on Caregiving, contact Policy_Digest@caregiver.org or visit the Family Caregiver Alliance website at www.caregiver.org.
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Your subscription information is used only for the purpose of improving this service and tailoring it to the needs of its audience. Information provided to us will not be shared with any other organization, agency, corporation, entity or third party.
Caregiving PolicyDigest is a publication of the National Center on Caregiving at Family Caregiver Alliance, 180 Montgomery Street, Suite 1100, San Francisco, CA 94104.
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