Briefing

REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT HERE. USAging is thrilled to announce our return to an in-person policy briefing in Washington, DC, this coming March! Join us as cherry blossoms begin to bloom and let your advocacy take root right here in the nation’s capital! The first year of the Biden Administration and the 117th Congress has seen unprecedented investment in the Older Americans Act and other aging programs—affecting caregivers, the direct care workforce, Medicare, Medicaid, transportation, housing and more. Local and national advocacy efforts around the critical need for increased home and community-based services for older adults has been amplified throughout the pandemic. AAAs and Title VI programs around the country have raised the visibility of these essential programs and services, bringing to the forefront the vital role in which you serve your community and state.  With the culmination of COVID-19 relief funding, potential Build Back Better investments, the need for continued advocacy for sustained annual funding and a shifting political dynamic in the coming election year, it’s more important than ever for aging advocates, YOU, to join us in Washington to navigate our new political realities and changing legislative landscape. Attendees will learn more about advocating for today’s aging policy priorities, gain insider analysis of the policy landscape in Washington, and get the messaging and advocacy tools and tactics to best serve older adults and caregivers at the local, state and national levels. And in exciting news, USAging’s Aging and Disability Business Institute will once again host a special intensive session on a soon-to-be-announced topic! You really can’t afford to miss the 2022 USAging Policy Briefing, mingle with peers just steps from the Capitol and get the latest policy insights that will help you advocate successfully for the older adults and caregivers you serve in your communities.

Advocates wanted! Join USAging this spring to update your policy knowledge and advocate with your congressional delegations on Capitol Hill. With the dwindling of COVID-19 relief funding, the need for continued advocacy for sustained annual funding and a brand-new Congress, it’s more important than ever for aging advocates like YOU to join us in Washington, DC, to navigate our new political realities and changing legislative landscape. Attendees will hear from the experts about what’s needed to advocate for today’s aging policy priorities, gain insider analysis of the policy landscape in Washington, and get the messaging, tools and tactics they need to best advocate on behalf of older adults and caregivers at the local, state and national levels. And in exciting news, USAging’s Aging and Disability Business Institute will once again host a special intensive—details below! You really can’t afford to miss the 2023 USAging Policy Briefing, mingle with peers just steps from the Capitol and get the latest policy insights that will help you advocate successfully for the older adults and caregivers you serve in your communities. Learn more and register at usaging.org/apb. 

Billing Codes and Data Standards: What AAAs, CBOs and Community Care Hubs (CCHs) Need to Know to Navigate the Social Care Payment Landscape The 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule adds new codes related to social care interventions that expand Medicare payment opportunities for AAAs, CBOs and CCH-led networks. Capitalizing on these and other opportunities will require sharing care and data between health and social care partners. Meanwhile the standards world continues to march forward on the development of data standards that will govern this information exchange and that will require AAAs, CBOs and CCHs to develop the capacity to perform billing and electronically exchange data as well as payment codes in a health care–compliant manner to support screening, assessing and addressing individuals’ health-related social needs (HRSNs). 7:30 a.m.    Breakfast, Registration Opens 8:30–8:45 a.m.     Welcome and Opening Remarks Sandy Markwood, CEO, USAging Marisa Scala-Foley, Director, Aging and Disability Business Institute, USAging 8:45–10:15 a.m.   Addressing Health-Related Social Needs through Medicare: The 2024 Physician Fee Schedule The 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule offers new codes related to social care interventions that expand Medicare payment opportunities for AAAs, CBOs and networks led by Community Care Hubs. This session will provide an in-depth discussion of these codes, and how AAAs, CCHs and CBOs can best prepare themselves to pursue reimbursement through them. Kelly Cronin, Deputy Administrator, Center for Innovation and Partnership, U.S. Administration for Community Living Doug Jacobs, Chief Transformation Officer, Center for Medicare, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Timothy McNeill, Co-Chair, Partnership to Align Social Care & Principal, Freedman’s Health Christine Vanlandingham, CEO, Region IV AAA, St. Joseph, MI Moderator: Paul Cantrell, Director, Center of Excellence to Align Health and Social Care, USAging 10:15 a.m.                     Break 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.    Session 2: Sharing Care and Information on HRSNs: Data Standards and Interoperability Capitalizing on new Medicare codes and payment opportunities requires sharing care and data between health and social care partners. Meanwhile the standards world marches forward on the development of data standards that will govern this information exchange and that will require AAAs and CBOs to develop the capacity to perform billing and electronically exchange data as well as payment codes in a health care compliant manner to support screening, assessing and addressing individuals’ health-related social needs (HRSNs). This session will provide a lively discussion on developments related to data standards and interoperability, and on what it takes to share care effectively between health care and social care providers to meet the needs of older adults and people with disabilities in a person-centered way. Michael Klinkman, Professor of Family Medicine and Learning Health Systems, University of Michigan & Medical Director, Cross Sector Data Sharing Program, MiHIN Jennifer Raymond, Chief Strategy Officer, AgeSpan, Lawrence, MA Moderator: Courtney Baldridge, Business Strategy and Health Systems Integration, USAging   Special thanks to The John A. Hartford Foundation for its support of the Aging and Disability Business Institute and this pre-conference intensive.

Join USAging in March to refresh your policy knowledge and champion the needs of older adults and caregivers on Capitol Hill. 2024 will be a busy year for aging advocates as Congress prepares for OAA reauthorization, FY 2025 appropriations for key aging programs and the continuation of efforts related to caregiving and the caring workforce. With all these issues on the horizon, it’s more important than ever for aging advocates like YOU to join us in Washington, DC, to learn about these issues and then educate Congress. Attendees will learn more about advocating for USAging’s aging policy priorities, gain insider analysis of the policy landscape from key federal agencies, congressional staff and aging stakeholders, and get the messaging, tools and tactics to best advocate on behalf of older adults and caregivers at the local, state and national levels. The Aging and Disability Business Institute will once again host a special intensive session—details below. And, new this year, we are offering a special intensive on advocacy skills, which is free to USAging members!  In exciting news, we will host an evening reception on Capitol Hill, which is the perfect opportunity for attendees to network and engage with Members of Congress and their staffers!  Topics to be covered include: AAA contracting opportunities, social care and health care partnerships, caregiving, Medicaid HCBS, health IT, Medicare, reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, and other policy areas.