Ensuring Access to LTSS During COVID-19: Exploring a State Resource Guide Produced by Manatt Health and The SCAN Foundation
Manatt Health
On Friday, July 10, State Health and Value Strategies hosted a webinar during which experts from Manatt Health presented key findings from a new COVID-19 state resource guide, funded by The SCAN Foundation. People who use long-term services and supports (LTSS), including individuals dually-eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, are particularly vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 and experiencing severe symptoms. We have seen COVID-19 have a devastating impact on people with complex care needs receiving care in nursing homes and other congregate care settings, in particular. To date, over 50,000 nursing home residents have died from COVID-19, representing up to 40 percent of U.S. COVID-19 deaths. Although there is less transparency on the impact of COVID-19 on people receiving LTSS in the community, we know that care has been disrupted due to caregivers being subject to stay-at-home orders, having no access to child care, lacking access to PPE to provide care safely, or quarantining after being sick or exposed to COVID-19.
In the resource guide, Manatt Health identifies federal and state Medicaid flexibilities available to state officials and other stakeholders and how those flexibilities are being deployed during COVID-19 to help ensure access to LTSS. The resource guide highlights examples of how states are ensuring continued access to LTSS by expanding the types of settings in which services can be delivered, bolstering pay and other supports for LTSS providers, and addressing barriers to care created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several states are turning their attention to considering which flexibilities they want to “unwind,” which they want to retain to respond to future COVID-19 outbreaks or other public health emergencies, and which they want to make permanent to strengthen and improve LTSS care delivery. The webinar provided examples of how states are approaching answering these questions.
The Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) explained the transition to “Account Transfer 2.0” (AT 2.0) in a CMCS Informational Bulletin (CIB) released on October 10, 2024. The CIB indicates significant federal investment in improving the process of transferring consumer application information between state Medicaid and CHIP agencies and the Marketplace in the states using the federal platform. This expert perspective reviews the CIB and highlights opportunities for states to improve account transfer data under the CIB.
On September 9, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new collection of federal Medicaid and CHIP reporting templates designed to assist states in monitoring Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) compliance in Medicaid and CHIP. Informal public comment is requested by December 2, 2024. This expert perspective reviews the reporting templates to highlight considerations for states and support the formulation of comment submissions.
On April 2, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services offered a new option for states to update their essential health benefits (EHB) benchmark plan to require coverage of routine adult dental benefits. While there are multiple drivers of inequities in oral health, a primary barrier to accessing dental services is the cost of care, a barrier that can be reduced with dental insurance. This expert perspective provides an overview of the newly available flexibility and discusses considerations for states weighing whether to add a requirement that plans subject to EHB cover routine adult dental care.
