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- This week, our In Focus section examines the operational impacts of federal Medicare Advantage policy changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On January 31, 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency. This was Read MoreRoundup:
California Names Lightbourne Health Care Services Director
Kansas Names Christiane Swartz Interim Medicaid Director
Missouri Chamber of Commerce Supports Medicaid Expansion
North Carolina Senate Committee Clears Bill Delaying Transition to Medicaid Managed Care Until July 2021
West Virginia Awards Medicaid Managed Care Contracts
Medicare Would Permanently Cover Telemedicine at FQHCs, Rural Clinics Under House Bill
MedPAC Calls for Accelerated Transition to Medicare Value-based Payments
- This week, our In Focus section discusses an issue brief prepared by Health Management Associates (HMA), Optimizing Capacity for Prescribing Buprenorphine in Jails and Prisons, authored by HMA Principals Shannon Robinson, MD and Donna Strugar-Fritsch, BSN, MPA, CCHP. Read MoreRoundup:
California Provides Updated Timeline for Medicaid Managed Care Procurement RFP
District of Columbia Medicaid May Integrate Behavioral
Florida Medicaid to Update Inpatient Payment Methodology
Illinois Medicaid Plan NextLevel Health to Close Down
Illinois Health System to Accept Molina Medicaid Members
Kentucky Plan to Protest Medicaid Managed Care Awards
Missouri Medicaid Expansion Ballot Measure Can Proceed
New Jersey Falls Short in Medicaid LTSS Payment Audit
New York Primary Care Practices Are Hard Hit By COVID-19
CMS to Use ‘Glide Path’ to Phase Out Medicaid 1135 Waivers
CMS Releases Medicaid, CHIP Plan MLR Guidance
- This week, our In Focus section provides a model framework examining an option for care for individuals with behavioral health needs who often find themselves involved with law enforcement or in hospital emergency rooms during times of crisis. The framework Read MoreRoundup:
California DHCS Director Bradley Gilbert Resigns
California Governor Proposes Fiscal 2021 Medicaid Cuts
Florida AHCA Secretary Mayhew Eyes Medicaid Changes
Hawaii to Rescind Medicaid Managed Care Contracts Scheduled to Take Effect in July
Illinois to Extend Medicaid to Undocumented Seniors
Kentucky Awards Medicaid Managed Care Contracts
Louisiana to Form Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee
New Jersey Proposes Revisions to Telehealth Requirements
New York Governor Holds Back On Budget Cuts
Puerto Rico Medicaid Plan Is For Sale, Molina Says
- Pre-Conference Workshop: October 25 Conference: October 26-27 Location: Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park Dear Friends, The fifth annual HMA conference on trends in publicly sponsored health care is schedule for October 25-27 at the Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park. It was well Read MoreRoundup:
Illinois Lawmakers Pass Hospital Bill Without Funds to Support Merger of Troubled Safety-Net Hospitals
Indiana Awards Medicaid Managed Care ABD Contracts
Medicaid Expansion News: Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma
Kentucky Medicaid Managed Care Awards Expected In May
CMS Releases Final Rule on Medicare Advantage Use of Telehealth, Coverage of ESRD Patients
- This week, our In Focus section reviews recent announcements and actions by Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that have significant financial and operational implications for the hospital industry. This brief begins with the most recent Read MoreRoundup:
State Budget News: California, Michigan
Hawaii Medicaid Enrollment Hits 348,000 as Applications Spike
Kansas Medicaid Director Adam Proffitt Resigns
Nebraska Is on Track to Implement Medicaid Expansion
Oklahoma Senate Confirms Kevin Corbett to Head OHCA
1199SEIU, Home Care Providers Call On Congress for Support
CMS Gives States Medicaid Managed Care Rate Flexibility
States Expect Medicaid Spending Growth to Accelerate
Medicaid Plan Profit Margin Dips to 0.1% In 2019
- This week, our In Focus section reviews Medicaid spending data collected in the annual CMS-64 Medicaid expenditure report. After submitting a Freedom of Information Act request to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), we have received a draft Read MoreRoundup:
California Faces $54 Billion Budget Deficit
Colorado Eyes 25 Percent Cut to IDD Services
Florida Projects $1 Billion in Additional State Medicaid Costs
Illinois SEIU, Nursing Homes Continue to Negotiate
New Mexico Medicaid Serves 40 Percent of State Population
New York Requests Emergency Medicaid Waiver Extension
Ohio to Cut Rates to Medicaid Managed Care Plans
Pennsylvania Projects Financial Hit to CHIP
Texas Awards STAR Kids Medicaid Contract to Aetna
CMS Issues Final Rule, Backs Off Plan to Alter Auto Re-enrollment Process on Exchanges
- This week, our In Focus section reviews key takeaways from the report, How State Medicaid Programs are Managing Prescription Drug Costs: Results from a State Medicaid Pharmacy Survey for State Fiscal Years 2019 and 2020, prepared by Kaiser Family Foundation Read MoreRoundup:
Colorado Public Option Bill Is Tabled Until 2021
Illinois Hospital Files Federal Lawsuit Claiming Inadequate State Oversight of Medicaid Plans
Maine Experiences Surge in Medicaid Enrollment
Missouri Advocates Gather Enough Signatures to Put Medicaid Expansion on November Ballot
North Carolina Gets COVID-19 Relief Package, But Not Medicaid Expansion
Texas Taps Stephanie Stephens as Medicaid Director
Virginia Order to Make Medicaid Services More Accessible
HHS Signals Approach to Distributing CARES Act Funds to Medicaid Providers
Molina Healthcare to Acquire Magellan Complete Care
- This week, our In Focus section reviews an issue brief written by HMA consultants examining Medicare-Medicaid integration. In 2019, 7.7 million people in the United States were eligible to receive access to full benefits under Medicare and individual state Medicaid Read MoreRoundup:
Medicaid Expansion News: Florida, North Carolina
New Jersey to Temporarily Increase Wages for Professionals Caring for Adults with IDD
New Jersey Issues Behavioral Telehealth Guidelines
New York Signals Additional Cuts to Health Care
Rhode Island Names Benjamin Shaffer as Medicaid Director
Tennessee Plan to Use Medicaid Funds to Care for Uninsured COVID-19 Patients Is In Doubt
Washington Receives Federal Approval for Section 1115 Emergency Medicaid Waiver
Exchange Plans Win $12 Billion Supreme Court Ruling
- This week, our In Focus section reviews publicly available data on enrollment in capitated financial and administrative alignment demonstrations (“Duals Demonstrations”) for beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid (duals) in nine states: California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Read MoreRoundup:
Medicaid Expansion News: Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma
California Delays CalAIM Implementation
Illinois Foster Families Worry Transition to Managed Care Will Disrupt Care
Oklahoma Submits HAO Waiver for Federal Approval
Washington Releases Medicaid Integrated Managed Care RFP for Additional Service Areas
Trump Administration Lacks Details on Plan to Cover Treatment of Uninsured COVID-19 Patients
- This week, our In Focus section examines the extensive scope of flexibilities Federal and State governments have made to Medicare and Medicaid telehealth coverage in response to the COVID-19 national emergency. In March and April 2020, federal and state policymakers Read MoreRoundup:
Medicaid Expansion News: Florida, Nebraska
Oregon Could See Medicaid Enrollment Increase by 320,000
Health Systems Criticize HHS for Tying Emergency COVID-19 Funding to Medicare Billings
Many ACOs May Leave Medicare Shared Savings Program
Molina, NextLevel Health Break Off Merger Talks
Blue Shield of California Affiliate to Buy Brown & Toland
