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  • Quick Take: Medicaid MCOs and Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) Requirements

    Fact Sheet

    One mechanism for ensuring that health insurance provides value to consumers for the premiums that they pay, or that others pay on their behalf, is to require insurers to meet a minimum “medical loss ratio” or MLR standard. The MLR is the share of premium revenues that an insurer or health plan spends on patient care and quality improvement activities, as opposed to administration and profits. In a recent 50-state survey on Medicaid managed care,…

  • The New Review and Approval Process Rule for Section 1115 Medicaid and CHIP Demonstration Waivers

    Fact Sheet

    For many years, Section 1115 waivers have been used in the Medicaid program to provide states an avenue to test and implement coverage approaches that do not meet federal program rules, but there have been longstanding concerns about the lack of public input and transparency in the waiver approval process. As a result, the Affordable Care Act required the Department of Health and Human Services to issue regulations designed to ensure that the public has…

  • The Texas Health Care Landscape

    Report

    This fact sheet summarizes the Texas health care landscape, including data on demographics, population health, the uninsured and the state Medicaid program. Fact Sheet (.pdf)

  • California and Texas: Section 1115 Medicaid Demonstration Waivers Compared

    Fact Sheet

    This fact sheet compares and contrasts key provisions of the California and Texas Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waivers. The Texas waiver, approved in December 2011, is modeled, in part, on the California waiver, which has been underway in that state since November 2010. Both waivers affect hundreds of thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries, involve billions of federal Medicaid matching funds, and are designed, in part, to promote changes in the health care delivery system that will…

  • California's "Bridge to Reform" Medicaid Demonstration Waiver

    Fact Sheet

    This issue brief provides an overview of California's "Bridge to Reform" Medicaid Demonstration Waiver, which was approved in 2010 and will make up to roughly $8 billion in federal Medicaid matching funds available to California over a five-year period to expand coverage to low-income uninsured adults and preserve and improve the county-based safety-net. The waiver also allows the state to enroll Medicaid-eligible seniors and persons with disabilities into managed care plans that meet specified readiness…

  • State Options That Expand Access to Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services

    Report

    This background paper examines various aspects of the Medicaid program that can expand access to home and community-based services (HCBS) and rebalance long-term care spending in favor of HCBS. As a result of the long-standing requirement that states cover facility-based care, the majority of Medicaid long-term care (LTC) expenditures historically have been for institutional, rather than home and community-based, services. Over the past two decades, major efforts have been undertaken by states and the Centers…

  • Five Key Questions And Answers About Section 1115 Medicaid Waivers

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief provides an overview of what Section 1115 Medicaid waivers are, how they are approved and financed, how states have used them, and how they are impacted by health reform. For many years, Section 1115 waivers have been used by states to test new coverage approaches not otherwise allowed under Medicaid program rules. Some waivers have also raised important policy issues. Since the passage of the health reform law, several states, including California,…

  • Federal Core Requirements And State Options In Medicaid: Current Policies And Key Issues

    Fact Sheet

    Medicaid is a jointly financed partnership between the federal government and states. The federal-state financing and administrative structure of Medicaid provides a framework of federal core requirements along with broad state options for program design and administration. This issue brief presents an overview of the current Medicaid program framework, with a focus on eligibility, benefits and cost sharing, care delivery and provider payment, long-term services and supports, and dual eligibles, as well as key issues…

  • Briefing on State Medicaid Programs, the Recession and Health Reform

    Event Date:
    Event

    The Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) held a 9:30 a.m. ET briefing on Thursday, September 30 to examine the challenges facing states as they continue to struggle with the lingering impacts of the recession and begin preparing to implement health reform. Three reports were released at the event: Hoping for Economic Recovery, Preparing for Reform: A Look at Medicaid Spending, Coverage and Policy Trends: Results from a 50-State Medicaid Budget…

  • The Role of Section 1115 Waivers in Medicaid and CHIP: Looking Back and Looking Forward

    Issue Brief

    For many years, Section 1115 waivers have been used in the Medicaid program, and to a lesser degree in the Children’s Health Insurance Program, to provide states an avenue to test and implement coverage approaches that do not meet federal program rules. While these waivers have facilitated important program evolutions over time, some have also raised issues. This brief reviews the experience of Section 1115 Medicaid and CHIP waivers and discusses issues for the Obama…