Issue Briefs | Nov 22, 2024

State Strategies to Compensate Beneficiary Advisory Council Members

Lisa Sbrana, Kaylee O’Connor, Morgan Cooper, and Patti Boozang, Manatt Health

The Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services final rule requires states to create and support a Beneficiary Advisory Council (BAC) as well as a Medicaid Advisory Committee (MAC), which together are intended to create a more formalized way for enrollees and interested parties to provide bidirectional feedback to the state about the Medicaid program. Fair compensation of Medicaid enrollees serving as BAC members provides states the vehicle to shift from a transactional to a transformative relationship with the community served by the Medicaid program. This issue brief offers considerations for determining how to fairly compensate BAC members for their time and expertise without adversely affecting their eligibility for Medicaid.

This issue brief is revised as of November 2024.