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  • How is the Affordable Care Act Leading to Changes in Medicaid Today? State Responses to Five New Options

    Issue Brief

    This policy brief examines how states in every region have responded to five key opportunities available under the health reform law to help them prepare for the significant expansion of Medicaid in 2014. The options covered in the brief include incentives for states to get an early start on the Medicaid coverage expansion; increased federal funding to upgrade Medicaid eligibility systems; money to improve care for beneficiaries with chronic conditions by providing "health home" services;…

  • The Impact of Part D on Dual Eligibles Who Spend-Down to Medicaid

    Issue Brief

    Individuals with incomes exceeding thresholds for regular Medicaid eligibility may qualify under state medically needy programs by spending down excess income on healthcare services. For the vulnerable population of Medicare beneficiaries who spend down to Medicaid, the Part D transition has added additional complexities that may result in disruptions in pharmacy coverage and add financial burdens. This paper explores the inter-relationship of Medicare prescription drug coverage and Medicaid spend-down for the medically needy. It describes…

  • Money Follows the Person: An Early Implementation Snapshot

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief examines the early successes and challenges of the Money Follows the Person Demonstration (MFP), a Medicaid initiative enacted into law in 2006 that gives states enhanced federal support to balance their Medicaid long-term care programs by providing more services in the community and fewer in institutional settings. A 2008 Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured survey of 29 states receiving MFP grants turned up several key findings, including that several hundred…

  • Financial Alignment Models for Dual Eligibles: An Update

    Issue Brief

    The nearly nine million dual eligibles who receive both Medicare and Medicaid benefits are a high cost, high need population, accounting for a disproportionate share of expenditures relative to their enrollment in both programs. In April 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the award of design contracts to 15 states to develop service delivery and payment models to integrate care for dual eligibles. CMS and the participating states have recognized that…

  • Among Dual Eligibles, Identifying The Highest Cost Individuals Could Help In Crafting More Targeted And Effective Responses

    Report

    This Health Affairs article by researchers at the Urban Institute analyzes linked Medicare and Medicaid data to examine dual eligibles' utilization and spending in both programs in 2007. It finds that while the population of people dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid is indeed costly, it is not monolithic. For instance, although 20 percent of dual eligibles accounted for more than 60 percent of combined Medicaid and Medicare spending, nearly 40 percent of dual eligibles…

  • Explaining the State Integrated Care and Financial Alignment Demonstrations for Dual Eligible Beneficiaries

    Issue Brief

    This paper provides an overview of the joint efforts of states and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop more integrated ways of paying for and delivering health care to the 9 million people who are eligible for both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Dual eligible beneficiaries comprise many of the poorest and sickest people covered by either program, and they account for a disproportionately large share of Medicare and Medicaid spending.…

  • The “Clawback:” State Financing of Medicare Drug Coverage

    Issue Brief

    This issue paper describes the origins of the clawback, the formula by which each state’s clawback amount is calculated, and the clawback’s implications for states and for low-income Medicare beneficiaries. Issue Paper (.pdf)

  • Health Reform Opportunities: Improving Policy for Dual Eligibles

    Issue Brief

    As the nation considers national health reform, this brief provides an overview of opportunities to realign federal and state policy for the dual eligibles to promote a more rational, cost-efficient system for 9 million of the poorest, sickest and highest-cost people covered by both Medicaid and Medicare. Navigating two programs with different rules and financing incentives is complex for beneficiaries and providers, impedes efforts to improve care coordination and results in cost-shifting between programs that…