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the MMCO submitted its FY 2022 Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office Report to Congress, as required by statute. Federal statute established the Federal Coordinated Health Care Office or MMCO within CMS to improve the coordination between the federal government and states to enhance access to quality services for individuals dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid benefits. The report describes MMCO’s activities to better serve dually eligible individuals in 2022 and contains three legislative recommendations, which were proposed in the Presidents Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget.

CMS issued a proposed rule (CMS-1787-P) that would update Medicare hospice payments and the aggregate cap amount for FY 2024 in accordance with existing statutory and regulatory requirements. This rule includes information on hospice utilization trends and solicits comments regarding information related to the provision of higher levels of hospice care, spending patterns for non-hospice services provided during the election of the hospice benefit, ownership transparency, equipping patients and caregivers with information to inform hospice election decision-making selection, and ways to examine health equity under the hospice benefit. This rule also proposes conforming regulations text changes related to the expiration of the COVID-19 PHE.

On Wednesday, April 5th, CMS issued a final rule that revises the Medicare Advantage (MA or Part C), Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D), Medicare Cost Plan, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) regulations to implement changes related to Star Ratings, marketing and communications, health equity, provider directories, coverage criteria, prior authorization, and network adequacy. Additionally, the final rule also makes permanent the Limited Income Newly Eligible Transition (LI NET) Program and expands eligibility for the full low-income subsidy benefit to individuals with incomes up to 150% of the federal poverty level who meet eligibility criteria.

CMS released the Announcement of Calendar Year (CY) 2024 Medicare Advantage (MA) Capitation Rates and Part C and Part D Payment Policies (the Rate Announcement). CMS will phase-in certain updates, and on average, CMS anticipates a payment increase for MA plans of 3.32% from 2023 to 2024, which is approximately a $13.8 billion increase in MA payments for next year. The Rate Announcement finalizes updates to MA payment growth rates and changes to the MA and Part D payment methodologies. These include technical and clinical updates to the MA risk adjustment model to keep it up to date and improve payment accuracy.

The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) released a white paper as part of its efforts to meet the changing needs of the growing senior population. The document outlines challenges to offering more affordable assisted living for low- and middle-income seniors, as well as solutions that could help improve access to necessary care. NCAL reinforces the need for public-private partnerships to increase affordable assisted living options for low- to moderate-income older adults who can no longer live at home. NCAL also highlights Medicaid as one of the major challenges, as the program is chronically underfunded and limits access to assisted living care.

The AARP Public Policy Institute (PPI) contracted with NORC at the University of Chicago to examine the implications of the Medicaid continuous enrollment unwinding process for older Americans. NORC analyzed Medicaid enrollment trends for the age 50-64 population prior to and during the COVID-19 public health emergency and used this data to model the impact of resuming Medicaid eligibility reassessments, or redeterminations, in this population. This paper discusses these findings as well as their context within the larger health care system. The paper also provides an overview of federal and state actions taken in advance of the ending of Medicaid continuous enrollment and discuss policy options that could help ease the transition.

2023 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures is a statistical resource for U.S. data related to Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia. Background and context for interpretation of the data are contained in the Overview. Additional sections address prevalence, mortality and morbidity, caregiving, the dementia care workforce, and the use and costs of health care and services. The Special Report examines obstacles and opportunities for achieving better care in an era of new treatments for Alzheimer’s.

On Tuesday, March 28th, CMS released the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. As of December 2022, over 65.2 million people are enrolled in Medicare; more than 35 million are enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare and over 30.2 have a Medicare Advantage plan. Over 91.3 million enrollees have Medicaid and CHIP; more than 84.3 million individuals have Medicaid and over seven 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.

On March 16, ACF announced an award of $560 million to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program or LIHEAP, following an award of $1 billion February 2023. LIHEAP provides asssistance with heating and cooling costs for low-income households. Over 6 million households received funding from the LIHEAP program during the past year, with LIHEAP funding for Fiscal Year 2023 totaling $6.1 billion.

On March 15, CMS released initial guidance describing the requirements and parameters on key elements of the new Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program for 2026. The initial program guidance describes the requirements and procedures for the first set of negotiations, which will occur during 2023 and 2024 and result in prices effective in 2026.