October 30, 2006

CARIE Policy Update and Meeting Announcement

Welcome
Welcome to the inaugural edition of CARIE Connection! From this point on, all email messages you receive from CARIE will arrive with this new format. You will continue to receive policy updates, advocacy alerts, meeting reminders and other news. Please contact Kathy Cubit if you need to update your contact information and be sure to include your full name along with your updated information. Don’t hesitate to contact me as well with any questions, feedback or suggestions about CARIE Connection. Thank you for your ongoing support and interest in CARIE.

Nursing Home Regulations and Long Term Care Resource Center
As you may know, Rosalie Kane and Lois Cutler at the University of Minnesota have created a website related to nursing home regulations called NHRegsPlus. (http://www.hsr.umn.edu/NHRegsPlus/index.htm)  The website includes information about every state’s nursing home regulations and allows users to compare a particular state with federal nursing home regulations as well as with other states. A specific topic or concern can also be researched.

In addition Dr. Kane and the National Long Term Care Resource Center will be launching a website soon to provide information about research and publications based on the work of the center. Topics such as assisted living, state rebalancing efforts, and home and community-based care will be included. For more information, please visit the Long Term Care Resource Center. (http://www.hpm.umn.edu/LTCResourceCenter/) 

Pennsylvania Senate Aging and Youth Committee Hearing
Senator Washington, Minority Chair of the Pennsylvania Senate Aging and Youth Committee, held an informational hearing on October 24, 2006. The focus of the hearing was the “aging population in Pennsylvania.” Since the Senate was in session until after 3 AM earlier that morning, the only Senators in attendance were Senators Washington and Connie Williams. The Committee was seeking recommendations on how state government could help with problems and issues related to long term care and older adults. CARIE was among those who provided testimony. Please click here to read the testimony.

Just the Links.....
The following are links to potential documents of interest:

• A report prepared for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality entitled “Residential Care and Assisted Living: State Oversight Practices and State Information Available to Consumers” at (http://www.ahrq.gov/research/residentcare/residentcare.pdf - PA specific information may be found on pages 53-55 and 92-93);
• A report prepared by the Community Living Exchange, a joint effort of Rutgers Center for State Health Policy (CSHP) and the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) that is funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), “Money Follows the Person Toolbox” at (http://www.cshp.rutgers.edu/Downloads/6610.pdf);
• A Community Living Exchange discussion paper, “Money Follows the Person: State Approaches to Calculating Cost Effectiveness,” at (http://www.cshp.rutgers.edu/Downloads/6620.pdf);
• The National Health Policy Forum primer, “The Basics: Medicaid Financing,” at (http://www.nhpf.org/pdfs_basics/Basics_MedicaidFinancing_09-13-06.pdf);
• A Medicare Part D resource guide prepared by the National Senior Citizens Law Center entitled, “Medicare Part D Exceptions and Appeals: A Practical Guide” at (http://www.nsclc.org/areas/medicare-part-d/area_folder.2006-09-28.4596471630 - Scroll down page to access document); and,
• The results from the 2003 national assessment of adult literacy, “The Health Literacy of America’s Adults,” at (http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006483)

November Meeting
Please click here for a copy of CARIE's Dorothy S. Washburn Legislative Committee’s November 2nd meeting agenda. Hope you can join us. As always, don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Kathy