Medicare

CHCS and Speire Healthcare Strategies released a report about COVID-19 response efforts from states and health plans that offer integrated care programs for duals. People who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid are among the nation’s most vulnerable to the coronavirus. The report outlines opportunities to support integration and identifies opportunities to strengthen programs and policies to best support the dual eligible population during the pandemic and in the future.

CMS released a new supplement to its State Medicaid & CHIP Telehealth Toolkit that provides new examples and insights into lessons learned from states that have implemented telehealth changes. The toolkit includes approaches and tools states can use to communicate with providers on utilizing telehealth. The toolkit includes updates and consolidates the FAQs and resources for states to consider as they begin planning beyond the temporary flexibilities provided in response to the pandemic.

The updated supplemental information is intended to help states strategically think through how they explain and clarify to telehealth providers and other stakeholders which policies are temporary or permanent. It also helps states identify: • Services that can be accessed through telehealth • Which providers may deliver those services • Ways providers may use in order to deliver services through telehealth, • Circumstances under which telehealth can be reimbursed once the PHE expires

NCOA and Health Management Associates (HMA) have released a new report detailing eight strategies and approaches to expand funding for evidence-based health programs. NCOA and HMA reviewed five states and one city- California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, New York City, and Washington- with community-based organizations that have strong partnerships with Medicaid agencies and managed-care organizations.

This issue brief from the MLTSS Institute focuses on aspects of delivering effective care to individuals eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid (dually eligible individuals).The brief provides a primer on the ways that Medicare data can help states better deliver care to dually eligible individuals; it also details information about data sources and other resources available to help obtain and analyze Medicare data.

This guide highlights the benefits and opportunities available for CBOs interested in providing services under Medicare FFS. It describes important considerations including billing and filing processes, culture change, and regulatory compliance. The guide also reviews how to enroll as a Medicare provider and outlines which services CBOs can offer.

This issue brief explores adjustments that states have made to processing eligibility and enrollment for benefits access, including changes to application and supporting document requirements. Examples of opportunities and adjustments that states have made to ensure older adults and persons with disabilities have access to critical benefit programs during the pandemic are highlighted. Data and findings are drawn from the ADvancing States 2020 COVID-19 Membership Survey.

This issue brief analyzes COVID-19 related legislative, regulatory, and subregulatory changes to Medicare from January 1, 2020 to July 24, 2020. The brief groups these regulatory changes into nine themes and examines questions regarding the policy changes moving forward. The brief is accompanied by a policy tracker that categorizes all 212 changes based on factors including types of providers and plans affected, effective date, and expected duration.

This technical assistance tool outlines how states can identify aligned and unaligned enrollees within their dually eligible populations. The first option described in this guide is accessing matching CMS data on Medicare enrollment with state data on Medicaid enrollment. The second option reviewed is collecting aligned enrollment data ddirectly from D-SNPs. This guide includes additional resources states can use to collect more information on identifying Medicare plan enrollment for duals.

This technical assistance tool explains how states can identify Medicaid enrollees who are dually eligible and those who are prospective dual eligibles. The guide outlines how states exchange files with CMS through the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) file exchange process to identify these individuals. This resource describes how the monthly MMA file exchange process can benefit both states and dually eligible individuals.