In 2014, regulation was issued by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services which finalized the criteria for home and community-based services (HCBS) for the purposes of Medicaid funding. The criteria require settings receiving HCBS funding to facilitate beneficiary independence and decision-making in defining desired community-based living.

The Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence is now accepting applications for its Community of Practice (CoP) on Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Developmental Disabilities. The CoP seeks to transform state/territorial developmental disabilities systems by:

Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm ET Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm ET The President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID) will host a two-day meeting Wednesday and Thursday. The Committee will discuss preparation of the PCPID 2017 Report to the President, including its content and format, and related data collection and analysis required to complete the writing of the Report. They will also receive presentations from selected experts in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. M

In a new handbook from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services entitled "Coordination of Benefits and Third Party Liability (COB/TPL) in Medicaid," guidance is provided that services provided under the Older Americans Act are an exception to the "Medicaid is payer of last resort" rule.

ACL's Administration on Aging collects annual performance data from State Units on Aging about the Older Americans Act Title III and Title VII (Chapters 3 and 4) programs through the State Program Report (SPR). The agency has been working with the Aging Network to redesign the SPR.

week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a request seeking information and data on additional reforms and policy options that can be considered to accelerate the provision of home and community-based services (HCBS) to Medicaid beneficiaries, taking into account issues affecting beneficiary choice and control, program integrity, rate setting, quality infrastructure, and the homecare workforce. The issues addressed in this request for information are highly relevant to ACL’s mission and vision. We urge our stakeholders to review and comment.

Today, the final rule for Independent Living (IL) programs went on display in the Federal Register. The rule was developed in close coordination with the independent living network and addresses the requirements of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Specifically, the final rule:

Good oral health is critical for older adults and younger adults with disabilities. Poor oral health is largely preventable and linked to a person’s overall health and serious chronic diseases. Unfortunately, older adults and adults with disabilities are at high risk of having poor oral health due to inadequate access to services and certain disabilities that make oral hygiene tasks hard to complete and obtaining services even more difficult.

ACL is working with a contractor to remind Medicare beneficiaries about Medicare Open Enrollment and the availability of volunteers from State Health Information and Assistance Programs (SHIP) to help make the most of Medicare coverage options. The matte release is as follows:

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) awarded a supplemental grant in the amount of $60,000 to the National Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC) to address a number of emerging issues. NORC provides significant training, technical assistance and program management expertise for state and local long-term care ombudsman (LTCO) programs.