CMS has recently approved five-year extensions for Medicaid Demonstration Waivers under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act in New York and Arkansas. Both extensions allow each state to continue innovative pilot...more
CMS targets short-term insurance plans in efforts to stabilize the individual market risk pool; Illinois mandates Medicaid coverage for opioid addiction treatment; and Michigan seeks to restructure State Medicaid financing....more
Editor's note: Medicaid is the largest healthcare payer in virtually every state. States are increasingly leveraging that position to drive payment and delivery system reform efforts. One powerful tool to enable...more
Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations - On April 14, 2016, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services released new details on a proposed restructuring of the MassHealth (Massachusetts Medicaid)...more
CMS's sweeping final rule aligns Medicaid and CHIP managed care with QHP and Medicare Advantage regulations; New York's DSRIP is enabling change in the State's Medicaid delivery system; and Medicaid expansion reduces...more
On January 5, 2016, New Hampshire secured a five-year, $150 million Medicaid 1115 waiver to transform the state's delivery system for Medicaid beneficiaries with mental health and substance use disorders. Known as the...more
The IRS releases guidance on resolving Form 1095 conflicts; New Hampshire's Medicaid expansion renewal clears a hurdle in the State; and New York providers get $1.5 billion in long-awaited DSRIP capital and infrastructure...more
On December 30, 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved California's request to renew its waiver under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act. A significant component of the waiver is the Delivery...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved a new section 1115 Medicaid demonstration for the state of California. Under the demonstration, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) will...more
Arizona seeks Medicaid Waiver to implement new coverage restrictions for Medicaid expansion enrollees and delivery system reform; Tennessee’s uninsured rate continues to drop; and Louisiana gubernatorial candidates line up...more
Congress passes a bill to give states greater flexibility in defining “small businesses”; South Dakota seeks to offset Medicaid expansion costs in part with increased use of the fully federally-funded Indian Health Service;...more
CMS offers a special enrollment period for HealthCare.gov enrollees whose incomes were miscalculated due to system error; California Marketplace announces two new insurers; and Connecticut’s budget reduces eligibility levels...more
In the wake of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the recent Medicare Managed Care Proposed Rule (the Proposed Rule) exemplifies the accelerated push by the Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for...more
Lessons From the Frontlines: Strategies for Supporting Informed Consumer Decision-Making in the Health Insurance Marketplace - Editor's Note: As marketplaces prepare for the third open enrollment period, consumers are...more
Montana’s Medicaid expansion waiver seeks monthly premiums and a “third party administrator”; Rhode Island’s Medicaid working group recommends pursuing a DSRIP waiver; and Utah’s Medicaid expansion discussions are put on hold...more
Designed by New York State to seek a federal waiver for the expenditure of Medicaid funds, the Delivery System Reform Incentive Program (DSRIP) will allocate 6.42 billion dollars to health care providers in New York State to...more
States have long relied on Section 1115 Medicaid waivers to advance payment and delivery reforms in their Medicaid programs, including far-reaching managed care programs and innovative provider-led care management...more