Americans of all ages use long-term services and supports (LTSS) when functional limitations and chronic illnesses create a need for assistance with routine daily activities like bathing, dressing, preparing meals, and administering medications.
Yet, the nation lacks an adequate system to support individuals, including older adults, who have a high need for LTSS.
Our LTSS system is plagued by inadequate funding, coordination, and choice. It places undue pressure on older adults and their families. It is ill prepared to meet the needs of a rapidly growing older population. The LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston conducts research that is designed to help the nation find new ways of delivering and paying for long-term services and supports that are high quality, community based, and protect families from economic peril.
Our experienced researchers have expertise in LTSS financing and delivery, and have explored financing models for initiatives that link affordable housing settings with health and supportive services to enable older adults with lower incomes to successfully age in their homes and communities.
Read more about our work on LTSS financing:
Commonwealth Care Alliance insures, organizes, and delivers care to a large, vulnerable population. The Commonwealth model emphasizes intensive patient outreach, care coordination, and social determinants of health.
The LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston is collaborating with Harvard Medical School and Commonwealth Medicine to conduct a rigorous scientific evaluation of the Commonwealth Care Alliance model.
Status: Ongoing
Contact: Marc Cohen
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is supporting this 1-year project to explore financing mechanisms that can support the development and implementation of housing plus services models.
For more than a decade, LeadingAge has been studying the role that publicly subsidized congregate housing with services could play in meeting the growing need for health and long-term services and supports (LTSS) among elders with low incomes.
The LTSS Center is now exploring mechanisms that could be used to finance programs that integrate housing and health care.
Status: Ongoing
Contact: Alisha Sanders, Robyn Stone
Read More:
LTSS Center Will Study Financing Options for Housing Plus Services
The One Care Implementation Council was formed in 2013 to ensure accountability within the One Care: MassHealth plus Medicare dual-eligible demonstration project.
LTSS Center researchers will work with Community Catalyst to conduct a materials review and interviews designed to identify benefits and challenges associated with the comprehensive stakeholder engagement process that One Care uses.
Status: Ongoing
Contact: Erin McGaffigan
Read More:
Listening to Consumers and Advocates Who Helped Shape a Health Plan
How Consumer Engagement Helped Direct a New Health Care Program
The National Council on Aging (NCOA) is supporting research designed to help it better understand the older adults it currently serves, and to assess the financial challenges facing middle-income elders who are not often served by NCOA’s programs and services.
LTSS Center researchers will be exploring these issues, and will also examine ways for middle-income older adults to monetize assets to address the financial impact of poor health, caregiving responsibilities, and LTSS expenses during retirement.
Status: Ongoing
Contact: Marc Cohen
Read More:
Analyzing the Financial Challenges of Middle-Income Elders
How Income Affects Perceived Health of Older Americans
Economic Disparities Between Whites and Minorities Persist in Retirement, Says Study
Other Areas of Work
WORKFORCE
Exploring strategies for strengthening the LTSS workforce
HOUSING PLUS SERVICES
Assessing the role of housing plus services models in affordable senior housing communities
NURSING HOMES
Identifying evidence-based practices to enhance nursing home quality
AGING & HEALTH
Building a robust evidence base for healthy aging
CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT
Engaging older adults in our work, and encouraging other LTSS organizations to do the same
FINANCING
Finding new approaches to financing long-term services and supports