On June 26, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model. TMaH is ten-year delivery and payment model designed to test...more
On January 29, 2023, a Florida Magistrate Judge recommended denying the State of Florida’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction and granting CMS’s Motion to Dismiss in connection with the implementation and enforcement of its...more
At the onset of the COVID pandemic in March of 2020, Congress made an important policy decision: continued access to health coverage was crucial, especially because, at the time, it was uncertain how the economy would...more
On Thursday, April 27, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released two highly anticipated proposed rules... Together, these would reshape the federal regulatory landscape for Medicaid and the Children’s Health...more
On May 3, 2023 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the proposed rule Medicaid Program; Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services. The proposed rule seeks to increase transparency in payment rates,...more
Lots of Healthcare Activity in Congress - Activity in Congress focusing on healthcare issues has increased over the last few weeks and is not slowing down anytime soon. This week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and...more
Strong evidence suggests that investing in children’s social needs leads to long-term improvements in health, economic stability and resilience. Despite this growing body of research, stakeholders have historically...more
This fall, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved innovative 1115 waivers for Arizona, Massachusetts and Oregon, authorizing new financing and programmatic flexibilities for delivering services that...more
In recent years, states have sought to leverage Medicaid to address social drivers of health (DoH), relying primarily on waivers for financing. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) approval of California’s...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a wave of telehealth policy changes across the nation at both federal and state levels. Such changes have expanded access to health care and addressed underutilization in chronic disease...more
Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) - SPA 21-0016 CMS-Approved State Plan Amendment (03/26/2021)...more
Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) - SPA 20-0040—CMS-Approved State Plan Amendment (03/16/2021) - CMS has approved California’s requests for a waiver of public notice requirements applicable to the SPA...more
On December 4, 2020, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments to decide the legality of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’s) authorization for states to incorporate work requirements into their Medicaid...more
The first ever VIRTUAL Managed Care Compliance Conference will have the great speakers and content you have come to expect from the in-person event. Each year, we look forward to hosting compliance professionals at our...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has long acknowledged the disparities in care and outcomes affecting the one in five Americans who live in rural areas, as well as the financial challenges faced by rural...more
Four months after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) offered state Medicaid programs a new COVID-19 Section 1115 waiver opportunity, five of at least 20 applying states have received approval of their waiver...more
The Trump administration has issued sweeping new Medicaid guidance, continuing its efforts to cap federal Medicaid funding. The new policy relies on untested legal theories to implement the fundamental “bargain” of block...more
On Thursday, Jan. 30, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Healthy Adult Opportunity initiative, long-awaited guidance that would enable states to convert Medicaid funding into a block grant for...more
In what is widely considered to signal intensified focus by the Federal government on Medicaid supplemental payments and related State Medicaid financing mechanisms, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on...more
We’ve posted previously the long-standing rumor (substantiated by several folks within the Administration) that CMS is working on a guidance document to states to receive their Medicaid funding through a block grant. In June,...more
On September 17, 2019, Tennessee released its proposal to block grant most of the funding the state’s Medicaid program (TennCare) receives from the Federal government. If approved by CMS, the amendment to the state’s...more
Health care issues will remain a central focus in Washington throughout 2019. Having gained control of the House following the 2018 mid-term elections, Democrats now have the ability to block President Trump's legislative...more
On January 23, 2019, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker revealed his fiscal year 2020 budget for the Commonwealth of $42.7 billion. While the budget contains a number of new initiatives, one new initiative is particularly...more
California’s Medicaid agency has posted draft language of a new state plan amendment (SPA) that would make major changes to federally qualified health center (FQHC) and Rural Health Clinic (RHC) reimbursement. Public comments...more
We expect 2018 to be another year of rapid change within the health care industry. In this episode, Mary Beth Johnston highlights some of the key topics that the health care practice group will monitor in the coming year,...more