Medicaid

The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) recently released an interactive map summarizing the current status of state Medicaid expansion decisions. This resource provides up-to-date information on the adoption of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) Medicaid expansion in different states, including details on legislative actions, executive actions, voter-led initiatives, and coverage expansions. View this interactive map to gain insights into the Medicaid expansion landscape and the efforts made by states to enhance healthcare accessibility for their populations.

On Monday, July 31, CMS released the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. As of April 2023, over 65.8 million people are enrolled in Medicare; more than 33.9 million are enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare and more than 31.9 have a Medicare Advantage plan. Over 94.1 million enrollees have Medicaid and CHIP; more than 87 million individuals have Medicaid and nearly 7.1 million have coverage through CHIP. Over 12 million individuals are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and are counted in the enrollment figures for both programs...

KFF’s brief, “Key Facts About Medicare Part D Enrollment and Costs in 2023”, analyzes enrollment and costs for the Medicare Part D benefit in 2023 and trends. Medicare Part D provides outpatient prescription drug coverage through a standalone Medicare Part D plan (PDP) to supplement Original or Traditional Medicare, or through a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan (MA-PD) or other Medicare Health Plan with drug coverage. The analysis notes that in 2023 over half of those with Medicare Part D coverage are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan with a Part D benefit. Enrollment in the MA-PD plans continues to outpace enrollment in PDPs. MA-PD enrollment grew by 47% between 2019 and 2023 while PDP enrollment fell by 12%.

On July 25, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Medicaid and CHIP Mental Health (MH) and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Action Plan Overview and Guide, outlining the agency's strategies for enhancing treatment and support for enrollees with these conditions. Key areas of focus include enhancing coverage and integration to expand access to prevention and treatment services, promoting engagement in care through increased availability of home and community-based services, and extending coverage to non-traditional services and settings. Additionally, the plan aims to improve the quality of care for individuals with MH conditions and SUDs.

On Tuesday, June 29, CMS released the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. As of March 2023, over 65.7 million people are enrolled in Medicare; nearly 34 million are enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare and more than 31.7 have a Medicare Advantage plan. Over 93.8 million enrollees have Medicaid and CHIP; more than 86.7 million individuals have Medicaid and more than 7.1 million have coverage through CHIP. Over 12 million individuals are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and are counted in the enrollment figures for both programs.

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) have released an updated data book which presents information on the demographic and other personal characteristics, expenditures, and health care utilization of individuals who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid coverage.

This publication finds meaningful variation in disenrollment and churn across Medicaid beneficiary categories. Specifically, beneficiaries with Supplemental Security Income-related eligibility have low rates of disenrollment and high rates of reenrollments. In this research, Mathematica uses data from the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System Analytic File to examine rates of disenrollment, churn, and continuous coverage among categories of children and adult Medicaid beneficiaries whose eligibility is related to a disability.

ADvancing States presentation at the NAPSA Conference on Medicaid and Adult Protective Services.

To best meet the health-related needs of Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries, and address equity within these programs and services, Medicaid leaders should reflect the varied populations they serve. Medicaid leaders are more likely to relate to the needs and challenges of their members when they share the identities of enrollees. This blog post and infographic from CHCS highlight key strategies for diversifying the Medicaid leadership pipeline, drawing from a CHCS report developed with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Justice in Aging has released a primer providing an overview of Medicaid HCBS, the bias within Medicaid towards institutional care, and how different states are serving older adults with disabilities in the community. It also briefly discusses the race, wealth, and population based inequities in the HCBS system.