Mac users: Increase text size by holding command and +. Decrease text size by holding command and -.Looking to save money on your Medicare Coverage? A new law that took effect this month may help. Officials from the Baker-Polito Administration and City of Boston kicked-off the expansion of Medicare Savings Programs in Massachusetts during a recent community event in Roxbury. Continue reading
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Age-Friendly Funding Alert: MassUP, Innovative Stable Housing Initiative
Moving Massachusetts Upstream (MassUP) Initiative:
The Health Policy Commission (HPC) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking partnerships between provider and community-based organizations looking to address upstream social, economic, and environmental barriers to health as part of the “Moving Massachusetts Upstream” (MassUP) initiative. Continue reading
Annual Report on Hospital Readmissions in Mass. Looks at Trends Among Older Adults Patients
Although hospital readmission rates decreased overall in recent years for patients age 65 and older, both the volume and rate of readmissions increase with older patient age groups. For example, patients aged 85 and over had the highest readmission rate in 2018 (17.2%), followed by patients aged 75-84 (17.1%).
This is among a list of findings in the Massachusetts Hospital-Wide Adult All-Payer Readmissions SFY 2011-2018 report produced by the state’s Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA). The report provides a statewide look at readmissions from Massachusetts acute care hospitals, enabling insights into statewide, regional, and hospital-specific readmission rates, including breakdowns by payer type, discharge setting, and hospital characteristics. Continue reading
‘Good Talk Toolkit’ Released to Aid Advanced Care Planning
Based on public messaging research, the Massachusetts Coalition on Serious Illness Care developed the Good Talk Toolkit to be a resource that supplements your organization’s capacity to build awareness and understanding for advance care planning.
The messaging and campaign are intended to shift the frame of advance care planning away from “end of life” and “life-sustaining treatment choices” towards goals of care, quality of life and shared decision making thus also bringing it into closer alignment with palliative care principles. Continue reading
WebMD/JAHF Surveys Older Adults and Their Caregivers Highlights Opportunity of Community Collaboration
A new survey of more than 2,700 older patients and caregivers from The John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF) and WebMD assesses opinions on Age-Friendly Health Care, which require attention to what matters to the older person and their caregivers in order to ensure high-value care resulting in consumer satisfaction.
The good news is that 87% of the more than 2,700 respondents to the Driving Towards Age-Friendly Care for the Future survey of older adults and family caregivers report satisfaction with the care they have received in the past 12 months. This high satisfaction, however, has some caveats. Continue reading
Governor Baker, Advocates Celebrate Expanded Eligibility for Medicare Savings Program
Governor Charlie Baker joined Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders and leaders of health care advocacy organizations on September 16th for a ceremonial signing of key sections of the Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) budget that aim to create health care savings for individuals and the Commonwealth. Continue reading
Medicare Plan Finder Gets an Update from CMS
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a modernized and redesigned Medicare Plan Finder, which is the most used tool on Medicare.gov. Continue reading
BCBS of MA Foundation: One in Ten MassHealth Members are Older Adults
According to a new report from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts, one out of 10 MassHealth members is age 65 or over and, while most of those older adults also have Medicare coverage, most live in non-facility settings in their communities. Continue reading
MassChallenge HealthTech Awards More Than $200K in Cash Prizes to Top Digital Health Startups
MassChallenge, a global network of zero-equity startup accelerators, recently awarded more than $200K in cash prizes to six elite digital health startups from the 2019 HealthTech accelerator.
Among the awardees was GoGoGrandparent, which was supported by MassChallenge accelerator competition “champions” the Executive Office of Elder Affairs based on the feedback and direction of the Governor’s Council to Address Aging.
Honoring Choices MA Supports Age- and Dementia Friendly Communities
More than 1,000 Honoring Choices partners and Health Care Planning Ambassadors are working in their local communities to help adults make a personal health care plan and get connected to essential care to improve healthy living.
Honoring Choices is now connecting this important work to Age- And Dementia Friendly Community efforts across Massachusetts via a new web page using Framingham as an example.