Summary

Description

The home- and community-based services (HCBS) taxonomy provides a common language for describing and categorizing HCBS across Medicaid programs. Prior to the taxonomy, only aggregate state-level HCBS expenditure data were available, however, policy initiatives to expand HCBS use among Medicaid beneficiaries who use long-term services and supports (LTSS) have created a need for more detailed analyses of HCBS use and spending. Authors of The HCBS Taxonomy - A New Language for Classifying Home- and Community-Based Services, published in Volume 4, Issue 3 of Medicare and Medicaid Research Review, demonstrate how applying the HCBS taxonomy to claims available in Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX) data allows for detailed analysis of HCBS spending and service at the state, service, and person levels. Researchers found that 28 states spent almost 23.6 billion dollars on HCBS in 2008. Roughly, 80 percent of expenditures were categorized as round-the-clock, home-based, and day services. Other services, such as case management, or equipment, modifications, and technology were widely used, but were not particularly costly and did not account for a large proportion of expenditures in every state.