Search

Food and nutrition programs should have adequate funding to engage in robust outreach efforts. 

Federal policymakers should develop a comprehensive system for financing Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) that includes a new social insurance program to provide a basic level of LTSS.

Ideally, the federal government should finance LTSS through a universal, comprehensive, and publicly administered program such as Medicare or similar social insurance program of shared risk. <

Two federal programs help states provide a broad range of social services important to older adults.

Several recent legislative efforts in Congress have included proposals that would cap the federal contribution (overall in a block grant or per person in a per capita cap) to Medicaid.

Congress and the states should ensure adequate Medicaid funding and maintain existing guarantees for Medicaid long-term services and supports (LTSS). 

Providers of long-term services and supports (LTSS) cannot ensure high-quality services without sufficient funding.

Federal and state governments should ensure that Medicaid reimbursement is sufficient to guarantee access to the full range of high-quality long-term services and supports in all service settings.

Medicaid coverage of long-term services and supports (LTSS) provides a safety net for vulnerable older people—and younger people with disabilities—who have low incomes and few assets.