Jan, 06, 2023

State Health Updates

  • Colorado – The Department of Health Care Policy & Financing is seeking member feedback through a member case management agency survey, which provides stakeholders an opportunity to participate in the case management agency selection process while maintaining the integrity of the competitive process and state procurement law. The survey consists of five questions targeting key areas of importance that long-term services and supports and home and community-based services stakeholders need most from their case management agency.
  • Minnesota – The Department of Human Services is hosting the “SUD Shared Solutions Summit” during which participants will begin work on a three- to five-year strategic action plan to improve Minnesota’s substance use disorder treatment system. Organizers held two listening sessions and hosted a survey to help inform the summit’s planning and sessions will focus on key themes identified during the listening sessions.
  • New Jersey
    • The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance announced that requirements for comprehensive abortion coverage among insurers in the individual and small employer markets will take effect for the start of the 2023 plan year on January 1, 2023. The department issued a study in November that found the need for regulatory action to require coverage for abortion services without exceptions under health benefit plans regulated by the department.
    • As of January 1, 2023, children under 19 may now apply for NJ FamilyCare, the state’s Medicaid and CHIP program, regardless of their immigration status. All other requirements for NJ FamilyCare still apply.
  • New Mexico – The state submitted a Section 1115 demonstration application to extend Centennial Care 2.0, which is set to expire on December 31, 2023. Under the five-year extension, the state seeks to continue its existing authorities and programs and requests authority to, among other items, provide continuous eligibility for children up to age six; expand the home visiting programs; expand access to supportive housing; provide Medicaid services for high-need justice-involved populations 30 days prior to release; and provide a $500 budget per Native American member per year for traditional healing services.
  • New York
    • New York’s Acting Medicaid Director, Amir Bassiri, joined the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s latest podcast episode of Policy Outsider to examine how New York is using a Section 1115 waiver to address health equity issues. Discussion included how the waiver works, the goals the waiver seeks to accomplish, strategies for achieving those goals, and a vision for the future of Medicaid.
    • The state submitted a Section 1115 demonstration amendment that seeks to authorize federal Medicaid matching funds for reimbursement for services delivered to enrollees residing in Institutions for Mental Diseases with behavioral health diagnoses including serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, and substance use disorder.
  • Oklahoma – The state submitted a five year extension request for their current Section 1115 demonstration entitled “Sooner Care” to be effective January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2028. The demonstration has operated since 1996 and the state is requesting to extend approval of the demonstration subject to the same Special Terms and Conditions, waivers, and expenditure authorities currently in effect.
  • South Carolina – The South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services and Governor Henry McMaster announced a new partnership involving the state’s three research universities that will significantly improve the state’s ability to identify and treat South Carolinians suffering from substance use disorder. University researchers, with technical and administrative assistance from the state agencies, will work together to utilize available data to design effective interventions to improve access to treatment and effectively target assistance to regions of the state that are struggling the most.
  • Tennessee – TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program, issued a press release following passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 stating that it will be required to reverify the eligibility status of everyone receiving TennCare or CoverKids benefits beginning April 1, 2023. TennCare estimates that more than 1.7 million Tennesseans will be impacted by the process.
  • Virginia – The Department of Medical Assistance Services announced the rebranding of Virginia’s Medicaid program. Cardinal Care is Virginia Medicaid’s new name for all health coverage programs for all Medicaid members. The new name and brand were launched on January 1, 2023. The goal of Cardinal Care is to create a clearer, straighter path to care for all Medicaid members.