Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Margaret T. Donnelly, Director

Changing Perceptions of Retirement As the Baby Boomer generation reaches retirement age, society’s perceptions of aging and its expectations of what retirement means will change.

Health Care Reform The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will shape the future of health care with new funding and new responsibilities.

Health Care Reform Elder Justice Act will expand adult protective services New funding will pay for nationwide criminal background checks

Health Care Reform States will be eligible for a larger federal match for Medicaid patients requiring long-term care and in-home services. The Community First Choice Program could expand Medicaid eligibility up to 150 percent of the poverty level.

Health Care Reform The Money Follows the Person program, which helps people move from a facility to the community, is extended until 2016.

Health Care Reform Rules governing spousal impoverishment must be the same for HCBS as for institutional settings beginning in 2014 Aging and Disability Resource Centers have the opportunity to expand.

Health Care Reform Increased coordination between Medicare and Medicaid Expanded eligibility for Medicaid and a voluntary plan for long-term care insurance

Changes on the Horizon A third-party contractor will be used to conduct assessments for Home and Community-Based Services. This change will create more consistency and better service for clients.

Money Follows the Person More than 230 seniors and adults with physical disabilities have moved from residential facilities into community settings since October of 2007.

Health Information Technology Improves treatment outcomes Provides access to top-quality care in rural areas Reduces medical errors and duplication of treatment

Health Information Technology Governor Jay Nixon created the Office of Health Information Technology, known as MO-HITECH, to promote the use of standardized electronic health records.

Health Information Technology More than 200 participants worked more than a year to come up with the plan. Those deliberations led to the recent creation of the Missouri Health Information Organization. Strategic and operational plans can be viewed on the MO-HITECH website at

Statewide Health Information Exchange Missouri awarded federal grant in February 2010 Changes will be costly, but broad participation will lower the cost The state will provide oversight and set standards to protect privacy of health records

What is in it for Long-Term Care? There is little direct funding to help long- term care facilities adopt electronic health records. But there is widespread agreement that long- term care must be included in this movement.

What is in it for Long-Term Care? Discussions are on-going concerning ways that both home-based and residential care can be included.

Benefits of Electronic Records in Long-Term Care Better coordination of care; Better medication management and reconciliation; Better transfer and discharge information; A likely reduction in the number of hospital stays; Overall higher quality of care.