TAC ISSUE BRIEFS

Accessing Multifamily Housing for MFP Participants

This brief - developed by TAC as part of the Housing Capacity Building Initiative for Community Living Project, a collaboration of the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Health and Human Services (HHS), under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Money Follows the Person (MFP) Rebalancing Demonstration - concentrates on specific federal resources that help create affordable housing units in rental developments within communities, commonly referred to as ‘multifamily housing.’ In addition to providing background on how various multifamily housing programs work, this brief also describes how to locate affordable housing units funded through these programs. (June 2013)

CMS New HCBS Rule

This brief developed by TAC discusses the implications to states of new Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) requirements issued by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for eligible settings and person-centered planning. In the brief, TAC examines CMS’ new HCBS rule in the context of evidence-based practices, federal disability policy, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the U.S. Supreme Court Olmstead decision. The brief highlights key considerations for states in complying with the final rule. (2014)

Connecting Medicaid Substance Abuse Providers

With the role of Medicaid as a purchaser of substance use treatment services greatly expanding as a result of national health reform, substance use providers will need to become familiar with the Medicaid program and the opportunities that exist for providing Medicaid funded substance use treatment services. This brief summarizes various options for providers of substance use services interested in establishing connections with the Medicaid program, including key questions to consider for providers interested in delivering Medicaid-funded services. (November 2012)

Connecting with Medicaid Homeless

This brief summarizes various options for providers of services to people experiencing homelessness interested in establishing clearer pathways or connections with Medicaid, including changes to Medicaid eligibility as part of health reform and key questions to consider for providers interested in delivering Medicaid services. (June 2011)

Health Reform Medicaid Homelessness

This brief is the first in a series intended to assist homeless service providers, advocates, and policy makers to understand and capitalize upon opportunities under national health reform, including changes to Medicaid, to prevent and end homelessness. (2011)

Housing Choice Vouchers Targeted to Non-Elderly Persons with Disabilities – Another Tool to Help End Homelessness

Over the past decades, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded almost 55,000 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers specifically targeted to non-elderly people with disabilities to Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) across the nation. Given the high number of people who experience homelessness with disabilities, these vouchers (referred to as NED vouchers) represent a key tool in a community’s efforts to end homelessness. This brief provides detailed information about these special purpose vouchers and includes strategies for engaging PHAs in using these vouchers for persons who experience homelessness and as part of a community-wide strategy to address chronic homelessness. (December 2014)

Katrina Success Story

This brief introduces Louisiana’s 3,000 unit Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Program, and describes the important roles that state policy makers, homeless and disability advocates, and philanthropy played in creating the nation's first large scale cross-disability, integrated permanent supportive housing initiative. (February 2010)

Key Considerations for Serving Chronically Homeless Persons in CoC-Funded Permanent Supportive Housing

On July 28, 2014, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issuedNotice (CPD-14-012) on Prioritizing Persons Experiencing Chronic Homelessness and Other Vulnerable Homeless Persons in Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH). The Notice encourages Continuums of Care (CoCs) and recipients of HUD CoC Program funding to prioritize persons who experience chronic homelessness for admission to CoC Program-funded PSH. As CoCs and PSH providers begin to explore the implications of implementing this guidance, this brief offers some key considerations for assessing and leveraging the services and supports that are necessary to meet the needs of chronically homeless persons. (December 2014)

Live in Aides

This brief - developed by TAC as part of the Housing Capacity Building Initiative for Community Living Project, a collaboration of the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Health and Human Services (HHS), under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Money Follows the Person (MFP) Rebalancing Demonstration - provides MFP programs with an overview of the rules and requirements in federally assisted and public housing programs regarding live-in aides. (May 2013)

Louisiana Permanent Supportive Housing Brief

This brief summarizes the state of Louisiana’s 3,000 unit Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Program. Developed in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the program is the nation's first large scale cross-disability, integrated permanent supportive housing initiative to include sustainable funding for housing and for supportive services using Medicaid. Program design, implementation lessons learned, and the implications for PSH policy are discussed. (February 2012)

Medicaid Eligibility & Enrollment

This brief provides an overview of the changes to Medicaid eligibility rules as part of health reform and enrollment pathway considerations for people with disabilities. It also identifies ways that advocates and others interested in Medicaid benefit design and enrollment issues can help ensure that people with disabilities have the information they need to make an informed decision about the enrollment pathway that will lead to the benefit plan best suited to their needs. (May 2012)

Medicaid Expansion Homelessness

On June 28, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the majority of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This brief discusses the Supreme Court’s decision as it relates to health reform and the expansion of the Medicaid program and its effects on people who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness. The brief also describes how advocates can help promote access to health insurance and health care services for people experiencing homelessness. (July 2012)

Medicaid Strategies Specialized Needs

This brief highlights what is known about effective Medicaid design strategies for people with disabilities including people who experience homelessness and people with other specialized needs, and describes current opportunities, as well as those available or required under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to improve care for these populations. (June 2012)

New Medicaid Options for MFP Participants

State Medicaid programs across the country are undertaking significant changes to their service delivery and payment systems. Some of these changes align with the goals of the Money Follows the Person (MFP) program, particularly those intended to help states rebalance their long-term care systems and promote access to home and community-based services. This brief - developed by TAC as part of the Housing Capacity Building Initiative for Community Living Project, a collaboration of the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Health and Human Services (HHS), under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) MFP Rebalancing Demonstration - provides an overview of some of the changes underway in state Medicaid programs and discusses the opportunities and challenges these changes present for the MFP program. (November 2012)

Oklahoma ETPS Medicaid Mental Health

The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) commissioned TAC to author this case study of Oklahoma’s Enhanced Tier Payment System (ETPS). The ETPS leverages Medicaid financing to incentivize mental health providers for quality improvement of care. The paper describes the overall ETPS system design, the stakeholder engagement process, and the process for obtaining approval from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). (2011)

Olmstead and MFP

This brief - developed by TAC as part of the Housing Capacity Building Initiative for Community Living Project, a collaboration of the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Health and Human Services (HHS), under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Money Follows the Person (MFP) Rebalancing Demonstration - offers guidance to state policy makers on how MFP can be utilized to assist states in meeting their obligations under Olmstead v. L.C and support them in their efforts to promote community integration for people with disabilities. (January 2013)

Olmstead Supportive Housing

This 'white paper' discusses best practices in community integration and strategies to expand permanent supportive housing for people with disabilities covered by the U.S. Supreme Court's Olmstead decision. (2001)

Section 811 Community Integration NCCBH

This article, which was co-authored by TAC's Associate Director, Ann O'Hara, and was published in an issue of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare Magazine, discusses how legislation intended to reform the HUD Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program will help create additional units of affordable permanent supportive housing for people with disabilities. (2009)

Strategies for Creating Integrated Supportive Housing

Securing appropriate housing options for Money Follows the Person (MFP) participants has historically been a challenge for MFP Programs. This brief - developed by TAC as part of the Housing Capacity Building Initiative for Community Living Project, a collaboration of the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Health and Human Services (HHS), under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) MFP Rebalancing Demonstration- focuses on potential strategies for expanding the stock of integrated, affordable, accessible housing. The case studies illustrate housing strategies that can be replicated in other states using the same or similar resources and housing and services infrastructure. (February 2013)

TAC CCD Summary 2009 Worst Case Housing Needs

This is a brief summary of the supplement to HUD’s Worst Case Housing Needs 2009 Report to Congress, which significantly improves previous estimates of need among renter households that contain very low income non-elderly people with disabilities. (2011)

Using Medicaid to Finance Supportive Housing

There is growing recognition that stable, affordable housing plays a critical role in supporting individuals' recovery from mental illness and substance use disorders. Behavioral health care leaders in several states are finding that Medicaid can be a cost-effective resource to finance and deliver some of the flexible services and supports that people with behavioral health disorders need to succeed as residents in permanent supportive housing. In this National Council for Behavioral Health issue brief authored by TAC, you'll learn about the implications of this emerging strategy for community behavioral health systems and organizations. (April 2016)