Streamline access to public benefits and services.
Strategies:
Review and modernize state- and Medicaid-funded long-term services and supports to increase the number of people served, improve equitable service delivery statewide, and reduce administrative burden on providers.
Overview of Progress Made
- MDOA and the Maryland Department of Health’s Office of Long Term Services and Supports (OLTSS) were awarded a privately-funded technical assistance opportunity to create a more streamlined continuum of care from pre-Medicaid to Medicaid LTSS. Based on the lessons learned, MDOA proposed and passed HB36, SB212 – Supporting Older Adults with Resources (SOAR) to consolidate and restructure three existing state-funded programs to enhance care support for older adults in their homes and communities.
- The SOAR Stakeholder Workgroup met and submitted final recommendations to MDOA on the redesign of state-funded pre-Medicaid long term services and supports on September 15, 2025.
Key Initiatives
- Supporting Older Adults with Resources (SOAR): Modernizes and strengthens the local Home- and Community-Based Services network by standardizing and streamlining systems of supports to more efficiently and effectively serve a greater5 number of older Marylanders.
Improve referral pathways between acute care providers, Medicaid home- and community-based services, and aging network services to create a more streamlined continuum of home- and community-based supports.
Incorporate programs targeting Marylanders across the lifespan, including older adults, adults with disabilities, and caregivers into the universal eligibility benefits application.
Overview of Progress Made
- The Maryland Benefits One Application launched July 2025. The mobile-friendly tool helps eligible Marylanders apply for multiple benefits, including Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, energy assistance, and others in one place.
Key Initiatives
- Maryland Benefits: A single source for applying for food, cash, health, and energy assistance benefits in Maryland through a shorter, easier-to-understand form that works on any device. Users can also track benefits and update their information through the platform.
Increase awareness and utilization of programs and resources to save for health care costs and increase self-determination, including Medicare Savings Plans, Health Savings Accounts, Advance Directives, end-of-life care, and others.
Explore ways artificial intelligence can be leveraged to improve access to public benefits and programs.
Increase access to prevention, screening and supportive services for people experiencing symptoms of dementia and their caregivers.
Increase utilization of veteran benefits and resources while reducing disparities in access to benefits across hard-to-reach populations within the veteran community.
Increase awareness of Social Security survivor benefits for non-married same-sex couples.
Outcomes:
Short-Term (1-3 years)
- Redesign state-funded pre-Medicaid long-term services and supports programming with AAAs
- Identify sustainable strategies to expand referrals between acute care and community-based providers
Mid-Term (4-6 Years)
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Increase awareness of programs, benefits, and services that support healthy aging and help older adults save money
Long-Term (7-10 years)
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Improve coordination between systems of long-term care to increase access to home- and community-based services