The Buying Value Measure Selection Tool: Strategies for Selecting Measures and Developing Aligned Measure Sets
The “Buying Value Measure Selection Tool” was developed to assist state agencies, private purchasers and other stakeholders in creating aligned measure sets, and was first released in 2014. A recent webinar explained this tool and recent updates for state officials and other stakeholders involved in developing and maintaining aligned quality measure sets for health care entities and programs including for health plans, accountable care organizations, and patient-centered medical homes.
Capping Federal Medicaid Funding: Key Financing Issues for States
Proposals for the incoming Congress and presidential administration to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have also included a call for a fundamental overhaul of the Medicaid program by imposing caps on federal funding to states. Such capped funding would replace the central feature of Medicaid’s financing structure, the federal government’s legal obligation to share all allowable state Medicaid costs. While the design of various proposals to cap federal Medicaid funding may differ in several ways, they all aim to allow the federal government to achieve budget certainty and reduce federal Medicaid spending.
Repealing Medicaid Expansion: Implications for States
Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has had a positive impact for states, both in terms of the number of people covered and the budget savings and revenue gains that they have realized as a result. A series of recent reports demonstrates the economic impact in states that have expanded Medicaid. A new webinar examined potential repeal of Medicaid expansion under the ACA, and what this would likely mean for states.
Assessment Tool: State Budget Impact of Medicaid Expansion
Medicaid expansion has generated significant savings and new revenues for states, which they have used to finance spending priorities and to offset state Medicaid costs. States that have expanded Medicaid received over $60 billion in federal funds in 2015 and covered approximately 11 million newly eligible people. This tool, developed by Manatt Health, is designed to help states document the impacts of Medicaid expansion on state budgets, including revenue generation and reductions to state general fund spending on Medicaid and other health related programs and services. This tool can be used to demonstrate the impact of expansion as the incoming administration and the new Congress develop proposals to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), potentially including the Medicaid expansion.
Repeal of the ACA Medicaid Expansion: Critical Questions for States
As we approach the beginning of a new presidential administration, there has been continued debate regarding the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), much of which has focused on the marketplaces, the mandate, and health insurance reforms such as the ban on insurers’ blocking coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. A potential elimination of the law’s Medicaid expansion to low-income adults and other ACA Medicaid provisions, however, would have far-reaching implications for states and the Medicaid program.
Integrating Health Care and Social Services: Moving from Concept to Practice
Social factors, including economic stability, housing, education, relationships, neighborhood, and other environmental influences, can have a significant impact on individuals’ health status. In order to make improvements to the health of both individuals and their communities, an integrated approach is critical. Policymakers need to bridge the gap between social services and health care delivery in their efforts to make these improvements, and several states have begun to develop innovative approaches toward this integration, which might provide valuable lessons for others.
Using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Information to Facilitate Medicaid Enrollment and Renewal
Recently released CMS guidance and newly established State Plan Amendment authority allows states to use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) data, under certain conditions, to enroll and re-determine Medicaid eligibility. In order to assist states in the facilitation of Medicaid enrollment and renewal for eligible SNAP participants, a recent webinar presented some of the necessary considerations for leveraging these data for enrollment purposes.
Examining the Economics of Medicaid Expansion
As evidence of Medicaid expansion’s positive fiscal impact continues to mount across the country, the ability to identify and allocate state general fund dollars “saved” through expansion matters now more than ever. This presentation by Manatt Health reviews the most recent findings on the economic impacts of Medicaid expansion, discusses how state can refine estimates of enrollment, savings, and other expansion impacts, and addresses how states are using information on economic impacts to demonstrate the value of expansion.
Medicaid: States’ Most Powerful Tool to Combat the Opioid Crisis
With the United States in the midst of a worsening opioid epidemic, an examination of the resources and tools available to states in combating this crisis is critical. With Medicaid serving as the largest source of coverage for behavioral health services, including those related to substance use disorders (SUDs), the role that it can occupy in addressing the epidemic is clear. An additional 1.2 million individuals with SUDs have gained access to coverage in states that have expanded Medicaid under the ACA. This issue brief, developed by Manatt Health, reviews Medicaid strategies to combat the opioid epidemic.
Improving Online Health Insurance Marketplaces: The Critical Nature of Direct Observation in Assessing the Consumer User Experience (UX)
As the fourth open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) approaches, online health insurance marketplaces must consider ways in which they can assess the consumer user experience in order to make continued improvements. Direct consumer observation, known as Consumer User Experience (UX) assessment, represents one such tactic that could serve as a very valuable tool for marketplaces as they continue their future strategic planning. This issue brief, prepared by Claudia Page, examines UX assessment channels and provides a closer look at what can be learned by directly observing actual consumers as they apply for coverage.