Sep, 28, 2021

State Health Updates

 

  • Connecticut – Governor Ned Lamont announced that his administration has received federal approval to combine Medicaid health coverage with a range of housing services for Connecticut residents struggling with homelessness and chronic health issues. The Connecticut Housing Engagement and Support Services (CHESS) will pool the efforts of state agencies and nonprofit partners to bring coordinated health care and housing support to individuals with mental health, substance use, and other serious health conditions.
  • Florida – The Agency for Health Care Administration is requesting to amend its Section 1115(a) demonstration, “Managed Medical Assistance” including modifying the Low-Income Pool to include non-profit licensed behavioral health providers and extending the postpartum coverage period from 60-days to 12-months. The federal public comment period is open through October 19, 2021.
  • Illinois – CMS approved the state’s postpartum CHIP Health Services Initiative amendment, which extends postpartum coverage from 60 days to 12 months. 
  • Massachusetts – The state’s Health Policy Commission (HPC) released the 2021 Annual Health Care Cost Trends Report. The report presents new research to enhance the collective understanding of health care spending trends and cost drivers in the Commonwealth and evaluates the state’s progress in meeting several cost containment, care delivery, and payment system goals set by the Commonwealth and the HPC.
  • Michigan – CMS approved the state’s request to extend its section 1115(a) demonstration “Flint Michigan Section 1115 Demonstration” for another five years. The demonstration expands Medicaid eligibility up to 400 percent of poverty for pregnant women and children suffering from the long-term health effects of lead exposure in Flint. The waiver, which also applies to the Children’s Health Insurance Program, waives cost-sharing and premiums. An estimated 46,000 children and pregnant women have received coverage because of the expanded eligibility.
  • Minnesota – The Department of Human Services announced that approximately 100,000 Minnesotans will save up to $52 a month on their MinnesotaCare premiums through the end of 2022. The premium relief stems from the American Rescue Plan Act. Until January 2023, people with incomes under 160 percent of the federal poverty level of won’t have to pay premiums for MinnesotaCare. People whose incomes fall between 160 and 200 percent of the federal poverty level will pay reduced premiums.
  • Montana – The state submitted an application to CMS to amend its section 1115 demonstration, “Montana Health and Economic Livelihood Partnership (HELP),” to remove expenditure authority for 12-month continuous eligibility from its demonstration and extension application.
  • New Hampshire – The states is seeking approval of an amendment to its 1115(a) demonstration waiver to use federal funds for Medicaid enrollees ages 21 to 64 who are receiving short-term mental health treatment in an Institution for Mental Disease. The amendment would apply to both Medicaid fee-for-service and managed care members.
  • New Jersey – The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance announced that consumers shopping for 2022 health coverage this fall at Get Covered New Jersey, the state’s official health insurance marketplace, will continue to benefit from financial help available from the federal American Rescue Plan and the state of New Jersey. Consumers will also have more choice, with the entry into the market of a new health insurance company, Ambetter from WellCare of New Jersey, increasing the number of carriers offering plans on the marketplace. 
  • Utah – The state submitted an application to CMS to extend the its section 1115 demonstration, entitled “Primary Care Network,” which provides health care coverage for various low-income populations, for five years. The request includes a number of changes to the demonstration, such as extending the period of intensive stabilization services from the first eight weeks to the entire period of the intensive program, and combining the four populations eligible to receive coverage under Utah’s premium Partnership for Health Insurance (UPP) into one demonstration population.