Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues…
Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues…
In November 2018, CMS released new state data on MAGI Medicaid and CHIP application processing time. These data reflect continued progress in reporting of performance indicators that CMS established in 2013 to facilitate data-driven program management and improvement.
This Medicaid waiver tracker page aggregates tracking information on pending and approved Section 1115 Medicaid waivers. It includes resources such as an overview map and figure, detailed waiver topic tables, and explanatory briefs.
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.
Medicaid, the provider of health insurance coverage for about one in five Americans and the largest payer for long-term care services in the community and nursing homes, continues to be a key part of health policy debates at the federal and state level. Important Medicaid issues to watch in 2019 include Medicaid expansion developments amid ongoing litigation about the ACA’s constitutionality as well as Medicaid demonstration waiver activities, including those focused on work requirements and other eligibility restrictions. States are also likely to continue to pursue initiatives to address the opioid crisis, and the recent passage of bi-partisan legislation with new tools and financing could bolster these efforts. Primary areas of federal policy to watch in 2019 with implications for Medicaid include the expiration of temporary funding for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands in the absence of legislative action as well as potential regulatory changes to public charge policies that would likely lead to Medicaid enrollment declines among immigrant families. Finally, reforms in benefits, payment and delivery systems continue to evolve as states and the federal government focus on managed care, social determinants of health, prescription drugs, and community based long-term care. While beyond the scope of this brief, Congress and states could also consider broader health reform that could expand the role of public programs in health care including Medicare for All or Medicaid buy-in programs that could have significant implications for Medicaid.
This page displays an interactive map of the current status of state decisions on the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. Additional Medicaid expansion resources are listed (with links) below the map.
Arkansas is the first state to implement a Section 1115 waiver that conditions Medicaid eligibility on meeting a work requirement. This brief looks at data related to the work requirement released by the state through November 2018.
This brief presents perspectives of enrollees and safety net providers about Arkansas’ new Section 1115 Medicaid waiver work and reporting requirements based on focus groups and interviews. The discussions examine enrollees’ awareness of the new requirements and ability to set up online accounts for monthly reporting; the effect of the new requirements on enrollees’ work and common barriers to work; enrollees’ experience with monthly reporting; impacts on particular populations, such as those with disabilities or who are homeless; and the anticipated effects of coverage losses resulting from the new requirements.
On January 12, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a Section 1115 demonstration waiver in Kentucky, entitled “Kentucky Helping to Engage and Achieve Long Term Health” or KY HEALTH. On the same day that CMS approved Kentucky’s waiver, Governor Bevin issued an executive order directing the state to terminate the Medicaid expansion if a court decides that one or more of the waiver provisions are illegal and cannot be implemented. This fact sheet summarizes key provisions of Kentucky’s approved waiver.
A new brief from KFF (the Kaiser Family Foundation) examines potential changes to “spousal impoverishment” rules in Medicaid that allow married couples to protect a portion of their income and assets should one spouse seek Medicaid coverage for long-term care. A provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires state Medicaid…
Congress created the Medicaid spousal impoverishment rules to protect a portion of a married couple’s income and assets to provide for the “community spouse’s” living expenses when determining nursing home financial eligibility. Originally, states had the option to also apply the rules to home and community-based services (HCBS) waivers. Section 2404 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which is set to expire on December 31, 2018, changed the spousal impoverishment rules to treat Medicaid HCBS and institutional care equally. This issue brief answers key questions about the spousal impoverishment rules, presents selected 50-state data from a 2018 Kaiser Family Foundation survey about state policies and future plans in this area, and considers the implications if Congress does not extend Section 2404.
