Improving Aging Supports Through Collaboration

For many older adults, having the opportunity to age at home — including receiving needed long-term services and supports (LTSS) in the home and community — is important to maintaining independence and quality of life. Improving LTSS is on the minds of many state Medicaid agencies, including how to better support the LTSS workforce, enable greater member choice, and collaborate across state government and with communities to improve member experience. In this new episode of the Medicaid Leadership Exchange, Medicaid leaders from Michigan and Indiana discuss strategies they’re using to address these issues, including their efforts to co-design solutions with Medicaid members.

This episode of the Medicaid Leadership Exchange features Allison Taylor, Medicaid Director, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration; Farah Hanley, Senior Chief Deputy for Health, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services; and Mark Larson, Senior Vice President, Leadership and Capacity Building, Center for Health Care Strategies. It is hosted by Gretchen Hammer, MPH, Principal, Public Leadership Group and Consultant, National Association of Medicaid Directors.

State leaders across health, human services, and other agencies — including Medicaid, early childhood, public health, child welfare, among others — are uniquely positioned to develop programs and services that support the health and well-being of people in their state. Despite the shared goal of helping individuals and communities to thrive, however, agencies often operate in siloes or in misaligned ways that create challenges for the people they serve.

The Aligning State Systems for Improved Health and Well-Being Outcomes framework can serve as a practical guide for state leaders looking to better align state systems and improve health and well-being outcomes.