Health Affairs Conference Focused on the Care Span for Elderly & Disabled

At a June 5 conference sponsored by the journal Health Affairs, in Washington D.C., experts in care for the elderly and disabled presented findings on how better coordination of care across the “Care Span” for the elderly and disabled can improve care, avoid unnecessary hospitalizations, and save costs.

The efforts to coordinate care have so far principally involved Medicare pilot studies focusing on “dual eligibles” — those elderly and disabled persons who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid — and innovations in health care delivery being tested by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) under the Affordable Care Act.

Tentative conclusions from the research included suggestions that proper coordination of care and increased focus on one-on-one care at home, may ultimately provide better care, reduce unnecessary hospitalizations and re-hospitalizations, and save costs.

At the conference in Washington, four panels of experts presented findings on:

• Panel 1: Improving The Coordination Of Care For People In Medicare And Medicaid
• Panel 2: Innovations In Care Delivery
• Panel 3: Emerging Issues In Care And Coverage, and
• Panel 4: Care For Advanced Illness And Toward The End Of Life

A list of the presenting experts and their affiliations, is contained in the Agenda for the conference provided online by Health Affairs.

Slides from the PowerPoint presentations delivered at the conference can be downloaded from the Health Affairs website.

Videos of each of the panel presentations at the conference are available for viewing on the Health Affairs website:

Detailed reports on the subject matter of the conference, Focus On The Care Span For The Elderly & Disabled, are contained in the June 2012 issue of Health Affairs.

More Information

See related HelpingYouCare™ reports on:

Medicare-Medicaid Announces Initiative to Reduce Avoidable Hospitalizations among Nursing Home Residents

HHS Announces 3 New Home & Community-Based Care Options under Affordable Care Act

Medicare to Provide Expanded Primary Care At Home for Seniors under New Affordable Care Act Initiative

32 Health Care Systems to Participate in Accountable Care Organizations Initiative under Affordable Care Act

HHS Announces Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative to Reward Better Coordination of Care

Affordable Care Act to Fund Improvement of Care for Medicare Patients in 500 Community Health Centers

For more information on health care policy and reform, see the HelpingYouCare™ resource pages on VoicesForCare™, including:

• News on Health Care Reform;
• Editorials: What Needs Improvement, With Your Comments;
• Advocacy: Proposals for Reform, With Your Comments;
• Legislation: Pending & Recently Adopted; and
• International Health Care Compare: Information on Health Care & Long-Term Care Solutions in Other Countries.

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