Medicaid

Special Needs Plans (SNPs), authorized by the Medicare Modernization Act, offer state Medicaid programs a new potential vehicle for coordinating Medicare and Medicaid benefits for dual eligibles. This report investigates the degree to which states (and plans) are using this option to develop more fully integrated Medicare-Medicaid models for dual eligibles needing long-term care services.

The Georgetown University Long-Term Care Financing Project has two newly-revised fact sheets National Spending on Long-Term Care, looks at total spending for nursing home and home care services nationwide, in total and by major payers. Medicaid and Long-Term Care, describes Medicaid's role in financing long-term care, with a particular focus on home and community-based services and how states' provision of these services may be affected by the policy changes in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

The DRA may have significant effects, given the high proportion of young children enrolled in Medicaid-28 percent of all children under age 6 in 2001-and the broad range of services covered. This report analyzes the provisions of the DRA and assesses their implications for the provision of early childhood preventive and developmental services. Changes include citizenship documentation, the use of a benchmark option, cost-sharing benefits and the financing of targeted case management.

Review two papers that center on the topic of public disability and health benefits and the fundamentals of the Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs and their relationships with Medicare and Medicaid. Part I looks at definitions, distinctions and overlaps; it reviews the effects on the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act. Part II discusses major initiative and issues in these programs in light of growing administrative, fiscal, and other problems.

The annual 50-state survey of Medicaid officials finds an improved economy combined with the implementation of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit has contributed to the lowest rate of Medicaid spending growth in a decade and the fourth consecutive year in which Medicaid spending growth has slowed. Review the news release, read the report, or listen to conference materials and view the presentation slides.

Are you searching for previous versions of past letters? The CMS website now has over 300 letters on-line in a searchable database. State Medicaid Directors' letter are used to provide States with guidance and clarification on current information pertaining to Medicaid policy and Medicaid data issues. The intent of these letters is not to establish policy, but to ensure consistency and better serve the States. Review the list which is sortable by subject, date or topic.

This memorandum and tables present data on Medicaid 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver expenditures from Federal Fiscal Years 2000 through 2005. Each individual HCBS waiver is classified by population served in order to show the distribution of HCBS waiver expenditures across long term care populations.

This memorandum presents data on Medicaid long-term care expenditures in Federal Fiscal Year 2005 (Sept 2004-Sept 2005). The accompanying tables present data on Medicaid Expenditures for Long-Term Care services from 1993-2005. Data included for Nursing Homes, ICF-MR, Personal Care, HCBS Waivers, Home Health, Home Care, Inpatient Hospital Care, Inpatient DSH, Inpatient Mental Health, Mental Health DSH, Medicaid Managed-Care, Prescribed Drugs, Long-term Care, Targeted Case Management and PACE.

A few recent Medicaid initiatives have emerged that take the program into new directions. States have a number of objectives in developing these approaches, including offering beneficiaries greater choice, promoting personal responsibility and healthier behaviors among enrollees, and looking at the private marketplace. This brief examines how these approaches change financial risk and responsibility for states, the federal government, beneficiaries and providers.

This fact sheet provides information on the new federal requirement that all U.S. citizens and nationals applying for or renewing their Medicaid coverage provide documentation of their citizenship status and examines the implications for Medicaid beneficiaries and the states. This is one of the significant changes the DRA makes to Medicaid effective July 1, 2006.