Report Ranks States’ Long-Term Services and Supports

​Performance in the provision of long-term services and supports (LTSS) "varies tremendously across the states, with LTSS systems in leading states having markedly different characteristics than those in lagging states," according to the authors of a recent report produced by AARP with support from the SCAN Foundation and the Commonwealth Fund. Raising Expectations, 2014: A State Scorecard on Long-Term Services and Supports for Older Adults, People with Physical Disabilities, and Family Caregivers, which updates a report from 2011, further indicates that performance is slowly improving, "both nationally and in most states." The report measured performance on 26 indicators across five categories: affordability and access, choice of setting and provider, quality of life and quality of care, support for family caregivers, and effective transitions. The states with the best performance were Minnesota, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Alaska. The report also found that costs of LTSS continue to exceed the means of middle-income families.