Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced three new initiatives to help states improve the quality and lower the cost of care for the nine million Americans who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid (dual eligibles).

The initiatives include:

• A demonstration program to test two new financial models designed to help states improve quality and share in the lower costs that result from better coordinating care for individuals enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid.
• A demonstration program to help states improve the quality of care for people in nursing homes by providing these individuals with the treatment they need without having to go to a hospital.
• A technical resource center to help all states improve care for high-need, high-cost beneficiaries.

More than $300 billion is spent each year to care for dual eligibles. In Medicaid, these individuals represented 15 percent of enrollees and 39 percent of all Medicaid expenditures. In Medicare, they represented 16 percent of enrollees and 27 percent of program expenditures.

HHS is working to increase the number of dual enrollees in systems that coordinate care. Coordinated care may improve the quality of care individuals receive and reduce costs for both states and the federal government.