On October 2nd, the LTC Transformation Workgroup had its first meeting. The workgroup is being assembled to further plan how Indiana can grow Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) in the Medicaid program. Click here to view the draft charter of the workgroup, on which IHCA has been invited to participate in.
The first meeting was focused on an overview of the recently released 1493 Report and then a discussion, through breakout group discussions, of 6 action steps from the 1493 Report. Access to HCBS, growing housing and supports, supporting unpaid caregivers, workforce challenges, reducing fragmentation, and person-centered service delivery were discussed by each breakout group. Each of these categories had action steps from the 1493 Report listed, and participants were asked to discuss which were most important to the category and what could specifically be done to implement the actions steps (click here to view the categories and associated action steps). A significant amount of time and discussion focused on support of informal caregivers and implementing person-centered choice.
There is a significant amount of information in the 1493 Report and at the workgroup meeting to digest, and all participants seemed overwhelmed with how to proceed. IHCA was represented by Zach Cattell, President, and Elizabeth Eichhorn, Dir. of Reimbursement Policy and Payor Affairs. The next meeting is scheduled for November 6th.