Medicaid

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.

The Institute for Medicaid Innovation has released a new report on how amendments and waivers are used to support innovative Medicaid program payment and delivery system models. The report is the second release in IMI’s “Introduction to Medicaid” series. The resource outlines 5 ccommon Medicaid waivers including a comparison table of all waivers implemented throughout the country. The report also explores the current use of 1135 waivers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On January 19th Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Medicaid LTSS Annual Expenditures Report for Federal Fiscal Years (FFY) 2017 and 2018. This report discusses the LTSS rebalancing trends and growth in expenditures for home and community based services (HCBS) as compared to institutional spending during these select years.

In this blog post, ACAP and CHCS share survey results that detail how Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), including Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) and Medicare-Medicaid Plans, are addressing existing and new health-related social needs of their dually eligible enrollees during the COVID-19.

The Biden Administration sent a letter to the nation's Governors renewing the Public Health Emergency (PHE) regarding COVID-19, declared under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act. The current public health emergency was renewed effective January 21, 2021, and will be in effect for 90 days. The announcement indicates that the PHE will likely remain in place for the entirety of 2021 and also commits to providing at least a 60 day notice before the end of the PHE.

This issue brief from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) examines the rate of opioid prescribing and its association with the development of opioid use disorder (OUD) among women covered under Medicaid and private health insurance after childbirth.

In 2017, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation launched the Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Model to test whether connecting Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to community resources can improve health outcomes and reduce costs by addressing health-related social needs (HRSNs)—adverse social conditions that affect health and health care. This report describes the Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries who were eligible for the AHC Model in the Assistance Track.

The AARP Public Policy Institute recently launched a three-year initiative which aims to transform long term care in the United States. LTSS Choices will be a series of reports, blogs, videos, podcasts, and virtual convenings that seek to catalyze reform and spark ideas to modernize LTSS, long term services and supports. The goal is a long-term care system that provides a wide range of choices to meet the dynamic needs and preferences of consumers and their families.

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) released the 2020 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. MACStats brings together the range of Medicaid and CHIP statistics, including eligibility and enrollment, benefits, service use and access to care.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, states have used the Appendix K Emergency Preparedness and Response authority to amend Medicaid 1915(c) home- and community-based services (HCBS) waivers and quickly provide more flexible services and supports to Medicaid enrollees and, indirectly, their caregivers. The Appendix K amendment was developed to reduce states’ administrative burdens during a crisis by enabling states to rapidly modify or add services provided through Medicaid waivers.