New guidance issued by the Centers for Medicaid Services outlines how states can make better use of home care in serving physically and mentally disabled Medicaid beneficiaries.
Those steps include establishing open registries of home care workers; establishing qualifications for such workers; and paying wages that will help foster continuity of care for the clients of those home care workers.
In making these recommendations, CMS seeks to make greater use of managed long-term services and supports and home- and community-based services when serving individuals who might otherwise need costly nursing home care.
Pennsylvania is in the process of launching a new such program, called Community HealthChoices, that will offer dually eligible Medicare/Medicaid seniors the option of receiving managed long-term services and supports instead of entering nursing homes.
Learn more about CMS’s recommendations and why it made them in this informational bulletin from CMS to state Medicaid directors.