Summary
The evidence that Black, Indigenous, and other people of color have higher long-term services and supports (LTSS) needs has important policy implications. It is critical for policymakers at the national, state, and local levels to be aware of racial and ethnic variation in LTSS need in order to improve service delivery for all people who require long-term services and supports. The Community Living Data Dashboard describes who needs LTSS and who receives Medicaid LTSS. It can be used to advocate for improvements in policies and services to support people with LTSS needs. We recommend using the Community Living Data dashboard to understand who needs LTSS and who is currently receiving LTSS in your state.
The dashboard allows you to look at who needs LTSS by race/ethnicity, sex, age group, primary spoken language, poverty status, and rural status. States with the highest levels of LTSS needs often have the least robust Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services programs (Kaye & Harrington, 2015). There are typically larger populations of people of color in these states, suggesting that people of color who need LTSS may not have access to high quality long-term services and supports to help them live in the community. The findings in this study in combination with the state-level information in the data dashboard can be used by states to plan and improve policies and practices to better meet the needs of all people who need LTSS.