Arizona

On February 9, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that eight states and the District of Columbia (DC) have been selected to participate in a new federal initiative, known as the “Housing and Services Partnership Accelerator” (Accelerator), to help strengthen partnerships across housing, disability, aging, and health sectors; access available federal programs and resources, and maximize federal flexibilities to help keep people healthy. The Accelerator will help these states and DC unlock critical resources to reduce homelessness by addressing health-related social needs, such as housing-related services...

The AHCCCS Administration is publishing preliminary decisions for Differential Adjusted Payments (DAP) strategies to be implemented in the contracting year 2022 for select AHCCCS-registered Arizona providers, which meet agency established performance criteria. This preliminary public notice also addresses future DAP reimbursement strategies that may be considered for implementation in CYE 2023 and thereafter. DAP rates are proposed to be implemented to assure that payments are consistent with efficiency, economy, and quality of care and are sufficient to enlist enough providers so that care and services are available at least to the extent that such care and services are available to the general public in the geographic area.

CMS recently released a Report to Congress highlighting approaches five state programs implemented to address housing instability and improve treatment outcomes for people with Substance Use Disorder. Initiatives mentioned in the report focus on: providing housing-related supports that facilitate access to community resources; sharing data across systems to identify and target those in need for resources; and partnerships building across state and local health and housing systems and providers.

This report examines how health plans can partner to promote successful integration of care for enrollees with behavioral health conditions. As part of this report, CHCS interviewed leaders of organizations that are partnering to integrate care.. The report analyzes findings from Colorado, Oregon, Arizona, And Arkansas and highlights key elements that contribute to successful partnerships between physical and behavioral health organizations.

State Medicaid programs are increasingly opting to cover home and community-based services. This report looks at the efforts of various state Medicaid programs, examines their structure, and highlights the challenges encountered. From this review, GAO highlights three main challenges: 1) difficulty recruiting and retaining home care workers, 2) difficulty serving those with complex needs and, 3) limited funding for HCBS services.

Older adults are affected by the opioid public health emergency because they often use prescription opioids to cope with painful chronic conditions or procedures. This issue briefing provides a summary about the problem, treatments, federal strategies to address the crisis, and funding and programs that are addressing this issue. The briefing also highlights innovative programs to address the opioid public health emergency in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and New Hampshire.

This issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation examines the implications of work requirements for Medicaid recipients with disabilities. Kaiser’s analysis finds that waivers that condition Medicaid eligibility on meeting a work requirement could affect people with disabilities who have limitations that interfere with their ability to work but do not rise to the stringent SSI level of disability.

This brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation describes what the Medicaid eligibility work requirements would be in each state, including what would count as work activities, the hours required, and what the common exemptions to the requirements would be. The brief also describes key issues to consider in implementing such requirements, such as administrative costs, potential confusion over documentation requirements and the risk that some people will lose coverage for which they remain eligible.

This report documents the nationwide housing affordability crisis experienced by people with disabilities. The report discusses how in 2016, millions of adults with disabilities living solely on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) found that renting even a modest unit in their community would require nearly all of their monthly income. The report offers policy recommendations to address this crisis.

For individuals who receive services from both Medicare and Medicaid, care is often fragmented across a wide array of medical, behavioral health, and long-term care providers. Medicare and Medicaid offer otherwise uncoordinated systems of care with different eligibility criteria, benefits, provider networks, and enrollment processes. This issue brief describes key features of effective integrated care programs and presents top policy considerations driving state investment in these programs.