State health updates as of March 17, 2021.

Erin Taylor, Rachel Isaacson, and Mary Beth Dyer, Bailit Health

State Health and Value Strategies recently released the third update to the Medicaid Managed Care Contract Language: Health Disparities and Health Equity, which includes excerpts from managed care contracts, procurement questions, and other policy documents from twelve states and the District of Columbia. This expert perspective share highlights from the recent updated version of the compendium.

State health updates as of March 12, 2021.

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed an approximately $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill—the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“the American Rescue Plan”). The American Rescue Plan includes myriad health care provisions, focused primarily in two areas: first, it provides funding the Biden Administration requested to carry out its COVID-19 response plans; second, it enacts significant but largely temporary coverage policies. This expert perspectives provides a high-level overview of the private insurance and Medicaid coverage provisions included in the American Rescue Plan.

This expert perspective reviews key considerations for states exploring Marketplace insurance subsidies and highlights the experiences in the five states that have established state-based subsidies that supplement the ACA’s premium tax credit and cost-sharing reductions.

Updates from the states as of March 5, 2021.

Updates from the states as of February 26, 2021.

Updates from the states as of February 19, 2021.

The United States is in the midst of an unprecedented national effort to manufacture, distribute, and ultimately administer COVID-19 vaccines to all Americans. While the federal government is coordinating distribution of vaccines from manufacturers to states, individual states (and certain municipalities) are responsible for coordinating the various components of infrastructure and operational logistics needed to take the vaccine from federal distribution channels to the arms of Americans. This expert perspective outlines four recommendations for states to engage their managed care plans to assist in efforts to successfully and rapidly vaccinate the Medicaid population.

Updates from states as of February 12, 2021.