Older adults dually enrolled in Medicaid and Medicare have complex health needs that can mean greater need for home and community-based services (HCBS). As many states — including California — move to support more people in their homes and communities rather than in institutional settings, designing person-centered approaches to HCBS quality monitoring is essential.

With support from CHCF and The SCAN Foundation, Community Catalyst and the LeadingAge LTSS Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston partnered with community organizations in California to pilot the cocreation of a set of HCBS quality measures with dually eligible older adults of color. They engaged a small group of older adults to learn which aspects of access and quality of care they prioritize most, and which validated survey questions most reflect these priorities based on their experiences.

Key takeaways:

• Access to services, as well as measures related to access, was the single most important issue for participants.
• Capturing postacute care experience in quality measures — specifically, transitions from hospital to home settings — can help reduce bad experiences for older adults, their families, and paid caregivers.

Get the full report, Centering Perspectives of Dually Eligible Older Adults of Color, on Community Catalyst’s website.

About the Authors

The report was authored by Michael Brand, Center for Community Engagement in Health Innovation, Community Catalyst; and Marc Cohen and Eileen J. Tell, LeadingAge LTSS Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston.