The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Joint Informational Bulletin with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and three other U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies—the Administration for Community Living (ACL), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The Bulletin provides state Medicaid agencies, state and local housing agencies, state and local public health agencies, and other health and housing entities with information on existing federal resources available to help improve health and housing outcomes for older adults and those with disabilities in rural America. The Bulletin discusses a wide variety of federal resources that can be used to help reduce physical environmental barriers in the home, increase safety, minimize the risk of falls, and support a person’s ability and desire to remain in their own home.
The Bulletin also supports the HHS Rural Health Task Force, an HHS-wide effort on improving health care and access for rural America. This includes the efforts by CMS, ACL, the CDC, and HRSA to improve health care in rural America.
ACL contributed information about several programs that support efforts to facilitate housing assistance, accessibility, home repair, and modifications. The agency also funds research on housing accessibility.