Assessing Disparities in Medicaid Home- and Community-Based Services: A Systematic Review

• Published in: Journal of aging & social policy Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 302 - 321
• Main Authors: Bercaw, Lawren E., Levinson, Abbie, Fletcher, Douglas, Shuman, Sari B., Hughes, Stephanie, Peddada, Sachin, Walsh, Edith G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Routledge 04-05-2023; Taylor & Francis LLC
• Subjects: Aged; Community Health Services; Delivery of Health Care; Development policy; Disabled Persons; disparities; Health services; Home Care Services; Home- and Community-Based services; Humans; Literature reviews; Marginality; Medicaid; Minority groups; Older people; People with disabilities; Policy making; systematic review; United States; United States; disparities; Home- and Community-Based services; Medicaid; systematic review
• ISSN: 0895-9420; 1545-0821
• DOI: 10.1080/08959420.2022.2081424

In recent years, expansion of home and community-based services (HCBS) for older adults and persons with disabilities has become a national priority in the U.S. In addition, lawmakers and health-care providers are pursuing opportunities to minimize disparities in healthcare service delivery. Marrying these priorities will require policymakers to identify existing Medicaid HCBS disparities toward development of new, more equitable policies. This study provides a systematic literature review using an adapted theoretical framework to describe disparities in Medicaid HCBS. Key findings are organized into four domains: availability, accessibility, accommodation, and acceptability. We found a lack of concerted research effort targeting Medicaid HCBS disparities in the context of all four domains, with an especially notable dearth of content related to acceptability. We also identified very few articles that focused on specific marginalized groups, suggesting a need for more research into whether Medicaid HCBS are available, accessible, accommodating, and acceptable for a variety of diverse populations. Our findings underscore the need for researchers and policymakers to conceptualize and evaluate existing Medicaid HCBS policy toward development of a more equitable Medicaid HCBS program design in the future.