Considerations for a State Health Insurer Fee Following Repeal of the Federal 9010 Fee
The recent repeal of the federal health insurer fee may create an opportunity for states to secure funding to support health coverage, without increasing costs on consumers or the health care industry.
Enacting a fee to replace the federal one presents several design questions for states, including what lines of insurance to include, timing, rate, and targeted exemptions. Frequent SHVS partner and ACA tax expert Jason Levitis prepared slides to help states understand these issues. For states interested in learning more, SHVS is happy to make Jason available to provide technical assistance. If you have questions or are interested in assistance, contact Jason directly at jason.levitis@gmail.com.
State Investments in Supportive Housing
While Medicaid typically does not pay for housing (room and board), it does pay for some clinical and non-clinical services that can help people obtain and maintain their housing. New federal authorities to cover housing-related services have motivated states to think more broadly about the Medicaid populations who could benefit from access to housing-related services and the types of services that can promote housing stability. State Investments in Supportive Housing provides an overview of the federal authorities under which states are able to cover nonclinical housing-related services for high-need Medicaid enrollees. The issue brief also details how states are using these authorities to invest in supportive housing for diverse high-need Medicaid populations.
Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule
On Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at 4:00 pm EST, State Health and Value Strategies hosted a webinar on a proposed rule released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that would make significant changes to Medicaid supplemental payments and financing mechanisms, including provider taxes and intergovernmental transfers (IGTs). The proposed fiscal accountability rule would, if finalized, sharply limit states’ abilities to use IGTs to fund their Medicaid programs and require many states to redesign aspects of their provider taxes, with resulting serious ramifications for many states’ Medicaid budgets. The webinar, facilitated by experts from Manatt Health, provided an overview of the proposed rule, highlighting the provisions with the most significant implications for states. During the webinar, experts also discussed how the rulemaking process may unfold over the next several months and what states can do to prepare.
Protected: Roundtable Materials: Maternal Morbidity and Mortality: Medicaid’s Role in Addressing the Crisis
On December 10, 2019, delegates from six states and the District of Columbia gathered in Washington, D.C. at a roundtable discussion to talk about potential Medicaid interventions to mitigate the maternal mortality and morbidity crisis. During the roundtable, SHVS and Manatt Health — along with national experts in maternal health and health equity—facilitated a discussion about opportunities for Medicaid to implement coverage, payment and delivery system reforms to improve health outcomes for pregnant and post-partum women, with a particular focus on health equity.
Protected: Resources to Collect Race, Ethnicity, and Language Data
As a follow-up to the November 20th SHVS office hour on the collection of REL data, this resource page provides links to a few resources that were mentioned on the call.
Implementing the ASAM Criteria for SUD Treatment through Medicaid Managed Care
As the opioid epidemic continues, Medicaid programs are applying for SUD Section 1115 Demonstration waivers (SUD waiver) to expand Medicaid-funded treatment options. Some states with approved SUD waivers have formally implemented the American Society for Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Criteria to promote consistency in client placement for SUD treatment. The ASAM Criteria is a clinically driven multidimensional client assessment model that emphasizes treatment outcomes, client-specific lengths of service, and a team-based approach to care. This issue brief draws from the experiences of states that were among the first to implement their SUD waivers to profile how the ASAM Criteria is used within the context of managed care and utilization review, and the challenges and best practices associated with its use.
Standardizing Health Plan Benefit Design in the Individual Market: Opportunities and Implications
Eight states require or will require insurers to offer health plans with standardized benefit plans in the individual market, and several more are considering requiring such standardization in the future. On Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. ET, SHVS hosted a webinar on the opportunities for states to implement standardized benefit designs, either through their health insurance marketplace or as part of a public option plan, issues to consider in developing standardized options, communicating with stakeholders, and leveraging standardized designs to improve affordability for enrollees and encourage maintenance of coverage. The webinar reviewed the development of standardized designs through state-based marketplaces, their role in Washington and other states’ public option proposals, operational requirements to improve the end-user experience, and data collection and analysis needs.
SHVS Health Equity Through Managed Care Webinar Series
On Tuesday, October 22 State Health and Value Strategies convened the fifth, and last, webinar in our series SHVS Health Equity Through Managed Care. For many states, eliminating disparities in Medicaid managed care programs means working with their MCO contractors, and implementing contractual requirements that advance health equity. Previous webinars in this series identified measures and MCO performance requirements that help reduce health disparities and improve health equity for a state’s Medicaid population. This webinar, The Medicaid MCO Experience in Addressing Health Equity, profiled the work of one MCO, HealthPartners, in addressing equity issues within its Medicaid line of business. We heard from Brian Lloyd, who manages Health Partners’ organization-wide equity initiative, which includes collecting data to eliminate disparities in care, supporting language access, partnering with communities, and building an organizational understanding of equity, diversity, inclusion, and bias.
Protected: Materials from Medicaid Buy-in and Public Options Small Group Convening
Password-protected access to slides presented at the Medicaid Buy-in and Public Options Small Group Convening held on September 5 – 6 in Seattle, WA.
Final Public Charge Rule: Analysis and Potential Implications
On August 12, 2019 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final version of its public charge rule which was to go into effect on October 15. The public charge rule will change how DHS determines whether immigrants—when seeking admission to the U.S., an extension of their stay, or status change to become a legal permanent resident—are “likely at any time to become a public charge” (i.e., dependent on the government for financial support). The webinar reviewed the final rule, highlighted changes from the proposed rule, and explored the rule’s potential impacts on consumers, states and providers.