Expert panel recommends functional status quality measures for skilled nursing facilities

A nonprofit health policy resource center this week released a resource for states to help them better manage the complex array of long-term services and supports (LTSS).

The Center for Health Care Strategies synthesized lessons from five states to create “Profiles of State Innovation Roadmaps.” To develop the roadmap, CHCS analyzed state best practice across three areas: rebalancing LTSS to provide more home- and community-based care, designing managed LTSS programs, and integrating care for adults who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. CHCS identified five states—Arizona, Hawaii, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin—with demonstrated expertise in managed care approaches for individuals with long-term care needs.

“Using successful state innovations of long-term care as a model for future reform will make the system more efficient and enable individuals to age where they want and how they want, with dignity and independence,” said Dr. Bruce Chernof, president and CEO of The SCAN Foundation, an independent nonprofit foundation that supported CHCS on this project.