Medicare

This brief from the Integrated Care Resource Center discusses opportunities for Medicaid agencies to partner with State Health Insurance Programs (SHIPs). Every state has a SHIP that is responsible for providing counseling and assistance for people with Medicare and their families. This brief highlights approaches used by Arizona, Massachusetts, and Texas, where SHIPs and Medicaid agencies have worked together to educate Medicare-Medicaid enrollees on new care delivery options.

This is a report on the dual eligible financial alignment demonstrations. The Financial Alignment Initiative is a series of demonstrations launched in 2011 by the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office (MMCO) and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Justice in Aging published three new fact sheets in collaboration with SAGE, SHIP National Network, and ACL. The new fact sheets are designed to help LGBT consumers learn how recent changes in Medicare and Medicaid may affect them. The Supreme Court’s legalization of same sex marriage changed how both programs evaluate the eligibility of same sex spouses. Additionally, Medicare is covering Gender Reassignment Surgery and issued new rules that protect transgender older adults from discrimination.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a report about the Minnesota Senior Health Options (MSHO) program. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the State of Minnesota started MSHO to coordinate the Medicare and Medicaid benefits their members receive, including Medicare coverage of acute medical care and Medicaid coverage of long-term services and supports. The report includes documentation of MSHO's outcomes from years 2010 to 2012.