The National Senior Citizens Law Center has launched a new website to provide aging and disability advocates the information and tools they need to ensure that models for delivering health and long term services and supports to dual eligibles (people with both Medicare and Medicaid) include strong consumer protections.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), as part of an initiative authorized by the Affordable Care Act, is currently working with states to design and implement new models for integrating the benefits and financing of both programs. As states build these new models, NSCLC believes that advocates for dual eligibles must be involved in this process.
The site will evolve over time with new postings and updates added weekly. Key features include:
- Advocate tools which provide specific recommendations on important topics like enrollment, appeals, financing and consumer protections.
- State profiles that describe the current status of demonstration proposals.
- A front page map that tells the user at a glance how many dual eligibles there are in each state and what type of care model is under consideration.
- A custom search engine that directs users to the most relevant information on the web.
- Federal guidance related to the dual eligible demonstrations.
- Recommended reading for advocates that are newer to the issue.
In addition, the site allows users to sign up to receive updates and related information from NSCLC about dual eligibles.
The site is part of NSCLC’s project to ensure that new models for integrating care for dual eligibles or for converting Medicaid-funded long term services and supports into managed care include strong consumer protections.
The project and site are funded in part by the Commonwealth Fund, the Nathan Cummings Foundation and Atlantic Philanthropies.
