Background
The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) posted a Notice of Opportunity on March 1, 2024, inviting long-term services and supports (LTSS) organizations and MassHealth members to join the LTSS Implementation Advisory Council (IAC). The IAC advises EOHHS on how to improve the assessment experience for LTSS. The Opportunity closed on March 29, 2024. To encourage more members to apply and ensure program representation, the Opportunity was reopened on May 14, 2024, and closed on June 28, 2024.
After the selection process, IAC members were organized into three focused workstreams. Each team focuses on specific areas to improve across the LTSS assessment system. Together, the council represents a wide range of LTSS programs. These include
- Personal Care Attendant
- Adult Day Health
- Day Habilitation
- Adult Foster Care
- Group Adult Foster Care
- Senior Care Options
- One Care
- Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly
The IAC brings together individuals with diverse backgrounds and experience. Representation includes advocates, provider organizations, clinical assessors, and members. This helps ensure that many perspectives are included in the council’s work. For a full list of IAC participants, please contact LTSS at ltss-assessment-advisory-committee@mass.gov.
Member Assessment Journey Improvement Team (MAJIT)
This team focuses on the Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) assessment and referral process. Members and providers give feedback about their experience with these services. This helps the MAJIT team identify issues. It also allows them to make the LTSS information clearer and easier to use.
MAJIT creates surveys and gives recommendations about the content of member materials. This helps to make sure these materials are consistent. They also give feedback on vendor-led options for counseling analysis. MAJIT’s work helps ensure clearer communication, more informed member decision-making, and a more transparent LTSS system.
Clinical Assessment Tool Improvement Team (CATIT)
This team focuses on strengthening the clinical accuracy and usability of shared assessment tools. This is done by incorporating feedback from community-based organizations and frontline clinicians. CATIT are experts in clinical assessment. This allows them to make sure that tools reflect real-world practice and support consistent, high-quality assessments.
CATIT also
- finalizes the Uniform Clinical Assessment (UCA) Question Bank
- reviews and recommends updates to the UCA User Guide, and
- outlines assessor training content.
This allows them to make sure community assessor input is reflected in final tools. It also helps promote alignment, usability, and assessor buy-in across programs.
Provider Assessment Performance Metrics Improvement Team (PAPMIT)
This team focuses on strengthening transparency and accountability in the LTSS assessment process. This is done through meaningful data sharing and performance measurement. PAPMIT looks at existing data sources and finds opportunities to share information with providers. They also develop performance metrics to support continuous quality improvement.
PAPMIT also
- recommends assessment performance metrics
- develops balanced scorecards, and
- gathers provider feedback on program-specific KPI dashboards.
This work helps to make sure there is consistent reporting and alignment among providers. It also provides data-informed improvements for assessment outcomes.
Scope
The IAC’s task is to advise EOHHS on how to improve and administer LTSS assessments. These improvements include, but aren’t limited to, the following.
- Using a standard assessment tool
- Mapping the member journey and referral pathways
- Improving how long it takes to complete an LTSS assessment
- Developing shared training materials and member resources
- Providing feedback on Request for Response (RFR) language before reissuing
RFR Feedback Materials
As part of its effort to include stakeholder feedback, EOHHS is seeking comments from the IAC about the RFR language before reissuing. EOHHS is collecting feedback from IAC members only. However, the RFR content is being made public to ensure clear understanding of this work.
You can review the RFR content at the following link.
| Date published: | January 8, 2025 |
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| Last updated: | February 3, 2026 |