State Legislation, Policy & Reports 

1. CA: Report Focuses On Future Of Olmstead In California  More...
2. CA: Hearing On Lawsuit Over Elimination Of Adult Day Health Care Draws Near  More...
3. MN: Judge Issues Restraining Order Against Cuts For Family Caregivers  More...
4. WA: Voters Approve Increasing Training For Long-Term Care Workers  More...

Federal Legislation, Policy & Reports 

1. Federal Legislation Introduced With Caregiver Assessment Component  More...
2. Lawsuit Focuses On Outpatient Vs. Inpatient Status  More...
3. Hearing Focuses On Assisted Living Facilities  More...
4. Reports Focus On Medicaid Spending, Utilization, And Shift To Managed Care  More...

1. Ireland: Report Focuses On Experience Of Former Family Caregivers  More...

Research Reports & Journal Articles

1. Paper: Caregiving Reduces Chance Of Married Men Working, But Not Married Women More...
2. Report: Feedback From 132 Public Sessions Focused On National Alzheimer's Plan  More...
3. NQF Releases Draft Report On Post-Acute And Long-Term Care  More...

Conferences & Trainings

1. Forum: The Challenges Of Family Caregiving: What Needs To Be Done?  More...
2. Webinar: Successful Collaboration Between Aging And Transit  More...
3. National Call-in Day For Financial Abuse November 10th 9:00-6:00pm (Eastern)  More...
4. Webinar: Improving The Qualified Medicare Beneficiary Program  More...

Funding, Media & Miscellaneous 

1. 30 Days Of Caregiving Interactive Campaign  More...
2. "Lives Worth Living" Chronicles History Of The Disability Rights Movement  More...
3. Report: 10 Criteria For Meaningful Measures Of Health Care  More...
4. Column Explains: "How To Work With A Geriatric Social Worker"  More...
5. CareMore Profiled In The Atlantic  For ACO-Like Approach  More... 

Research Registry  

1. Lewey Body Dementia Association Survey  More...

If you are interested in having your registry listed, please contact info@caregiver.org  

Join in the conversation: "30 Days of Caregiving" on FCA's Facebook Page 

A recently released report by Californians for Olmstead focuses on the state's current adherence to Olmstead and future steps for advocates.  The report begins with a survey of the California disability community, who cited challenges and successes with the current Olmstead plan, including little to no progress in implementing recommendations, and policymaker's acknowledgment of the effectiveness of the IHSS program while also cutting the budget for the program.   Progress on deinstitutionalization in the Dept. of Developmental Disabilities and the Dept. of Rehabilitation were both applauded.  The state of California made approximately $15 billion in cuts to health care and social services since FY 2008/09, resulting in an additional $15 billion loss in matching federal dollars.  Within the context of budget cuts, the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and shifts to managed care, the author recommends three priorities, including promoting consumer direction, preserving the non-profit, community-based safety net provider network, and focusing on fiscal incentives and advocating for them to be aligned to support HCBS.  For more information, visit:

 

 
Lawsuit Focuses On Outpatient Vs. Inpatient Status  

The Hartford Courant reports that the Center for Medicare Advocacy planned to file a lawsuit against the federal government based on the issues that arise from Medicare patient stays being designated as outpatient or observational status as compared to in-patient status.  An attorney for the organization explained that the difference in how a person is designated while they are at the hospital will impact whether or not a post-hospital stay at a nursing home is paid for by Medicare.  The National Senior Citizen Law Center is co-counsel in the suit and the article features an interview with a Connecticut woman whose husband was designated "out-patient" status despite being in the hospital for five days.  For more information, visit:

Hartford Courant: "Advocates For Medicare Patients To File Lawsuit Against Federal Government 

 
Hearing Focuses On Assisted Living Facilities 

The United States Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing at the beginning of the month focused on regulation of assisted living facilities.  One of the witnesses was a daughter whose mother's death at an assisted living facility in Florida prompted an investigation into regulation (or lack thereof) into assisted living facilities in Florida.   Other representatives discussed current regulation of assisted living facilities at the state levels.  The testimony from Leading Age cited the fact that 37 states have some form of disclosure statement that is provided to prospective residents and 49 states have regulatory requirements for residency agreements that mandates that they include certain consumer protections.   Another effort cited was the Assisted Living Disclosure Collaborative, which will ultimately result in a uniform disclosure tool that will inform consumers about the services provided at an individual assisted living provider.  For more information, visit:

US Senate Special Committee on Aging Hearing: "Ensuring Quality and Oversight in Assisted Living"   

 
Reports Focus On Medicaid Spending, Utilization, And Shift To Managed Care

Several recent reports from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured focus on Medicaid.  In the first report, focused on 2007 spending patterns, the authors explain that while Medicaid long-term care users accounted for six percent of the Medicaid population, they account for nearly half (48%) of total Medicaid spending.   The second report focuses on a growing trend of states using managed care organizations to administer their Medicaid programs and provides suggestions (based on interviews with stakeholders) for state policymakers considering shifting to managed care.   The third report is the 11th annual survey of state Medicaid budgets, and the authors explain that unprecedented budget pressures have led states to eliminate, reduce or restrict benefits, in addition, 39 states have lowered provider rates in FY 2011, with 46 states planning lower rates for FY 2012.  For more information, visit:

1) Medicaid's Long-Term Care Users: Spending Patterns Across Institutional and Community-based Settings 

2) Examining Medicaid Managed Care: Long-Term Service and Support Programs: Key Issues To Consider 

3) Moving Ahead Amid Fiscal Challenges: A Look at Medicaid Spending, Coverage and Policy Trends Results from a 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey for State Fiscal Years 2011 and 2012   

 

Paper: Caregiving Reduces Chance Of Married Men Working, But Not Married Women

A recent working paper from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College uses data from nine waves of the Health and Retirement Survey.  The authors find that serving as a caregiver to elderly parents reduces a married man's chance of working by 3.2 percentage points.  However, serving as a caregiver did not affect the wife's chance of working.  Men's decisions to work were not affected by whether or not their wife is a caregiver.  Women who are the only care provider increase their work hours by one hour per week, but women whose husband is the sole caregiver decrease their work by 1.2 hours per week.  The authors conclude: "Overall, for adult children with elderly parents who are married, there is considerable joint caregiving, and this joint caregiving dampens the negative effect of caregiving on work that has been observed in other studies."  For more information, visit:

Center for Retirement Research at Boston College: "Do Couples Self-Insure? The Effect of Informal Care on a Couple's Labor Supply" 

Report: Feedback From 132 Public Sessions Focused On National Alzheimer's Plan

  
The Alzheimer's Association released a report earlier this week focused on the results of 132 public listening sessions attended by 43,000 people across the U.S. to provide input on the National Alzheimer's Plan.  In recognition of the political will necessary to achieve the goals, the report begins with a "thank you" to eight senators and representatives who helped introduce and pass the National Alzheimer's Project Act and a "thank you" for members of congress who attended listening sessions.  The input from the listening sessions is grouped into ten issues, including insufficient research funding, poor dementia care, unprepared caregivers, and mounting costs.  A participant from Roseville, California explains: "If we are going to get through the next 20 or 30 years - watching baby boomers with Alzheimer's increasingly burden their children with a disease they cannot control - we absolutely have to invest in the research to find good treatment options."  For more information, visit:

Alzheimer's Association: "Alzheimer's from the Frontlines: Challenges a National Alzheimer's Plan Must Address"   

RNQF Releases Draft Report On Post-Acute And Long-Term Care

The Measure Applications Partnership Coordinating Committee (MAP) at the National Qualify Forum (NQF) released a draft report earlier this week.  The draft report is based on the work of the Post-Acute/Long-Term Care Workgroup, one of the work-groups operating under the Coordinating Committee.  This workgroup is focused on performance measurements for post-acute and long-term care, including hospices, ESRD facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health care.  MAP is convened by NQF to provide input to the Department of Health and Human Services on the selection of performance measures for public reporting and performance-based payment programs as part of the Affordable Care Act.  Public and member comment on the draft report is being accepted until November 23, 2011.  For more information or to provide feedback, visit:

NQF: Public and Member Comment- PAC/LTC Report  

30 Days Of Caregiving Interactive Campaign

 In honor of National Family Caregiver Month, Family Caregiver Alliance is sponsoring "30 Days of Caregiving," a campaign that feature a new blog posting on a unique aspect of caregiving each day during the month of November.  A number of guest bloggers from national organizations will focus on the challenges of caregiving as well as the positive aspects.  Topics already covered include Caregiving from Afar, Benefits of Caregiving, Sex and Dementia, Caregiver College, Caregiving with Siblings, and Helping Those who Help Others.  Family caregivers, researchers, professionals, and others who are interested in caregiving are invited to join the conversation via FCA's blog and Facebook page.  To read the first posting, visit:

Day 1: 30 Days of Caregiving

"Lives Worth Living" Chronicles History Of The Disability Rights Movement

"Lives Worth Living," an independent film that chronicles the history of the disability rights community recently aired on PBS stations through the Independent Lens series.  The film uses oral history from activists to trace the history of the movement as it became increasingly vocal and active, culminating in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.  For more information, visit:

Lives Worth Living

Lewey Body Dementia Association Survey

The Lewey Body Dementia Association (LBDA) is conducting a survey to assess if there are differences in how grief is experienced by caregivers for individuals with Lewy bodies, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease with and without dementia, and frontotemporal degeneration.  The survey will also assess the well-being and quality of life for caregivers of individuals diagnosed with the neurodegenerative diseases. Internet access is required to participate in the study, and LBDA needs 500 caregivers who are currently providing care for each different disease that is being studied.  For more information, or to participate, visit:

Neurodegenerative Disease Caregiver Study