Attention to high list prices continues at both the state and federal levels with a number of policy proposals aimed at lowering drug prices and there is renewed interest in drug prices and reimbursement within Medicaid. Changes made in 2016 to federal rules governing how state Medicaid programs pay for drugs aimed to make the prices paid more accurate, but increased reliance on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) pose challenges to drug price transparency. This brief explains Medicaid prescription drug prices to help policymakers and others understand Medicaid’s role in drug pricing and any potential consequences of policy changes for the program.

This brief describes key themes related to the use of comprehensive, risk-based managed care in the Medicaid program and highlights data and trends related to MCO enrollment, service carve-ins, spending, MCO parent firms, and state and plan activity related to quality, value-based payments, and the social determinants of health.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to promote state adoption of work and reporting requirements as a condition of Medicaid eligibility for certain nonelderly adults, although several such waivers have been set aside by federal courts. While most Medicaid adults are already working, some states and health plans have developed voluntary work support programs for nonelderly adults who qualify for Medicaid through non-disability pathways. These programs offer services that support work without conditioning Medicaid eligibility on having a job. This brief examines opportunities for and limitations on federal and state support of such programs, highlights several state and health plan initiatives, and explores their common themes.

States are limited in their leverage when it comes to controlling drug spending and use a variety of strategies to manage utilization, including an increased reliance on managed care and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). As policymakers debate proposals that include provisions related to Medicaid pharmacy benefits, it is important to understand the challenges state Medicaid programs face and how policy proposals may impact Medicaid beneficiaries and costs.

This interactive provides state-by-state data on Medicaid delivery system and payment reform initiatives. Users can track state Medicaid managed care, patient-centered medical home (PCMH), Health Home, Accountable Care Organization (ACO), and Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) waiver activity.

This report provides an in-depth examination of the changes taking place in Medicaid programs across the country. The findings are drawn from the 19th annual budget survey of Medicaid officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and Health Management Associates (HMA), in collaboration with the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD). This report highlights certain policies in place in state Medicaid programs in FY 2019 and policy changes implemented or planned for FY 2020.

A new issue brief highlights key facts about states’ use of managed care in Medicaid, including data and trends related to enrollment, state spending, and market share. Plus, new data available on KFF’s Medicaid Managed Care Market Tracker illustrates the substantial role private insurers now play in the program.

Medicaid funds typically cannot be used to pay for non-medical interventions that target the social determinants of health. However, in October 2018, CMS approved North Carolina’s Section 1115 waiver which provides financing for a new pilot program, called “Healthy Opportunities Pilots,” to cover evidence-based non-medical services that address specific social needs linked to health/health outcomes. The pilots will address housing instability, transportation insecurity, food insecurity, and interpersonal violence and toxic stress for a limited number of high-need Medicaid enrollees. This brief summarizes key features of the pilots.

On November 14, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed revisions to the Medicaid managed care regulations with public comments due by January 14, 2019. CMS previously finalized a major revision to these regulations in 2016. The November 2018 proposed rule is not a wholesale revision of the 2016 final rule but proposes changes in the following key areas: network adequacy, beneficiary protections, quality oversight, and rate setting and payment.

This report provides an in-depth examination of the changes taking place in Medicaid programs across the country. Report findings are drawn from the annual budget survey of Medicaid officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This report examines the reforms, policy changes, and initiatives that occurred in FY 2018 and those adopted for implementation for FY 2019 (which began for most states on July 1, 2018). Key areas covered include changes in eligibility, managed care and delivery system reforms, long-term services and supports, provider payment rates and taxes, covered benefits, and pharmacy and opioid strategies.