CHIP

On March 28, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. As of December 2023, over 66.8 million people are enrolled in Medicare; more than 34.2 million are enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare, and over 32.6 million are enrolled in Medicare Advantage or other health plans. Over 85 million enrollees have Medicaid and CHIP. More than 77.9 million individuals have Medicaid, and over 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.

On Friday, April 28th, CMS released the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. As of January 2023, over 65.5 million people are enrolled in Medicare; more than 33.9 million are enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare and nearly 31.6 have a Medicare Advantage plan. Over 93 million enrollees have Medicaid and CHIP; more than 85.9 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.

On January 5, 2023 CMS released an Informational Bulletin providing further guidance on the Medicaid eligibility provisions in the recently-enacted Federal budget (Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023). The CAA permits states to begin terminating Medicaid eligibility for current recipients on April 1, 2023 and provides gradually-decreased FMAP increases through December, 2023. This IB is the first in a series of written guidance from CMS on these provisions, focusing first on revised key due dates for certain state eligibility redetermination deliverables and activities.

On December 20, 2022 CMS released a report summarizing the public comments it received in response to the 2022 Request for Information (RFI): Access to Coverage and Care in Medicaid & CHIP. CMS framed the RFI questions across three dimensions of health care access: (1) enrolling in coverage, (2) maintaining coverage, and (3) accessing services and supports. This report includes counts of comments, types of respondents, summaries of common themes across objectives, and cross-cutting findings.

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) released the 2022 edition of the MACStats: Medicaid and CHIP Data Book, with updated data on national and state Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment, spending, benefits, and beneficiaries’ health, service use, and access to care. As of July 2022, almost 90 million people were enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP.

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.

On Thursday, February 17, 2022 CMS released a request for information (RFI) regarding access to Medicaid and CHIP Services. The RFI is broad and extends beyond prior CMS access inquiries, which largely focused on eligible beneficiaries ability to receive covered Medicaid services. This RFI includes topics such as how beneficiaries enroll in and maintain access to coverage, access to the actual services, and payment rates.

CMS released the 2020 Medicaid and CHIP Beneficiary Profile and Infographic. The profile and infographic provide an overview of the characteristics, health status, access, utilization, expenditures, and experience of the beneficiaries served by Medicaid and CHIP.

On Tuesday, July 6, 2021, CMS released the Quality Report to Congress identifying efforts undertaken to improve the quality of health care for children and adults enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The report provides information on activities undertaken between 2017 and 2019, including changes in performance in the quality measures included in the Medicaid and CHIP Child and Adult Core Sets.

CMS released an update to the COVID-19 Vaccines Toolkit that was released on 10/28/20 and first updated on 11/23/20. This update includes more information on vaccine administration reimbursement and outlines a streamlined review process available to states looking to quickly adjust vaccine administration reimbursement rates in state plans. The toolkit also provides more clarification on managed care network adequacy and the phased distribution and administration approved COVID-19 vaccines.