Establishing Coordinated LTSS [long-term supports and services] Programs: Solutions for Medicaid, States, and Consumers that Promote Improved Quality and Flexibility

Abstract

Hilltop Executive Director Charles J. Milligan, Jr., participated on a panel at the 3rd Annual Medicaid Managed Care Summit in Washington, DC on February 25, 2010. The summit examined policy changes, Health Care Reform, and funding opportunities, as well as explored strategic answers to the core challenges in managed care. The panel, entitled Establishing Coordinated LTSS [long-term supports and services] Programs: Solutions for Medicaid, States, and Consumers that Promote Improved Quality and Flexibility, brought together Milligan and other experts in long-term care who presented challenges and solutions for the largely unmanaged portions of state Medicaid budgets dealing with long-term care services from a fiscal, medical, and operations perspective with an emphasis on the perspective of seniors and people with disabilities. The discussion included: identifying the personal care needs of seniors and people with disabilities; public policy considerations for personal care that preserve independence and freedom; examples of successful State LTSS programs, including the New Mexico Coordination of Long-Term Services (CoLTS) Program, which Hilltop helped develop; and demonstrating how managed care can transform to coordinated LTSS.