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As the Biden Administration takes office, the ongoing effects of the coronavirus pandemic and related economic downturn are the key issues that will substantially shape Medicaid coverage and financing policy in the year ahead.
In this column for the JAMA Health Forum, Larry Levitt explores what President-elect Biden might do to advance his health care vision both through legislation and through executive orders and waivers and demonstrations.
The recent election of former Vice President Joe Biden as well as the on-going effects of the coronavirus pandemic and related economic downturn are the key issues that will substantially shape Medicaid policy over the next year.
This interactive map shows the status of all Section 1332 waivers requested by states. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) allows states to apply for innovation waivers to alter key ACA requirements in the individual and small group insurance markets and can be used to shore up fragile insurance markets, address unique state insurance market issues, or experiment with alternative models of providing coverage to state residents.
As the Trump administration reaches the end of its first term, this issue brief considers the landscape of approved and pending Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waivers under this administration and how the November 2020 presidential election may impact this landscape.
This issue brief identifies key themes in policy changes states are making under Appendix K authority to adapt Medicaid HCBS programs in light of the COVID-19 emergency.
This brief summarizes the first COVID-related Section 1115 waiver approval for Washington and discusses the approval’s implications for other states that have submitted emergency Section 1115 waiver requests.
This issue brief answers three key questions about the implications of the appeals court’s decision setting aside the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary’s approval of a Section 1115 Medicaid waiver amendment that included work and reporting requirements and restriction of retroactive coverage in Arkansas.
On January 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance inviting states to apply for new Section 1115 demonstrations known as the “Healthy Adult Opportunity” (HAO). These demonstrations would permit states “extensive flexibility” to use Medicaid funds to cover Affordable Care Act (ACA) expansion adults and other nonelderly adults covered at state option who do not qualify on the basis of disability, without being bound by many federal standards related to Medicaid eligibility, benefits, delivery systems, and program oversight. In exchange, states would agree to a limit on federal financing in the form of a per capita or aggregate cap. States that opt for the aggregate cap and meet performance standards could access a portion of federal savings if actual spending is under the cap. This issue brief explains the key elements of the HAO guidance and considers the implications of the new demonstrations.
State policy choices about Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) shape these benefits in important ways for the seniors and people with disabilities who rely on them to live independently in the community. This issue brief presents the latest data from the KFF's annual survey of Medicaid HCBS program policies in all 50 states and DC.
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