Will the integration of Medicare and Medicaid financing under Minnesota's Long Term Care Options Project (LTCOP) facilitate real integration of acute and long term care services and lead to more rational clinical approaches for providing services to the elderly at the same or lower cost than current systems? The Minnesota Department of Human Services finished work on a planning grant to design a Medicaid and Medicare financing and delivery demonstration integrating acute and long term care services under a capitated managed care framework. The state submitted a waiver application to HCFA requesting permission to implement the LTCOP. This interim grant permitted the state to continue development of the LTCOP, while awaiting a final decision from HCFA regarding the implementation of the LTCOP. The objective of the LTCOP was to determine whether it is possible to build partnerships among acute and long term care providers to provide services to the dually-eligible elderly more efficiently.