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Say Ahhh!

  • It’s Here! An Introduction to the Much-Anticipated Updated School-Based Medicaid Services and Administrative Claiming Guide

    Margaux Johnson-Green

    May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and last week’s news takes this month to heart with the release of the much-awaited Comprehensive Guide to Medicaid Services and Administrative Claiming by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in consultation with the US Department of Education (ED). The first comprehensive update in two decades, CMS’s…

  • Medicaid Managed Care: Results for the Big Five in PHE Q13

    Andy Schneider

    The earnings reports for the “Big Five” for the quarter ending March 31—known here as PHE Q13—are in.  The “Big Five”—CVSHealth (Aetna), Centene, Elevance Health (formerly Anthem), Molina Healthcare, and United Health Group—need no introduction, either to state Medicaid agencies or investors.  Together, they had 44.2 million Medicaid enrollees as of March 31.  If children…

  • How Many Children Just Lost Coverage in Florida?

    Joan Alker

    We just received a copy of Florida’s report to CMS on its first month of “unwinding” the Medicaid continuous coverage provisions for April and the data is alarming. Of the 461,322 people whose eligibility was checked, more than half — 54% or 249,427 people — were terminated. Most of those terminated (82%) had their cases…

  • Arkansas Unwinding Numbers Show What’s at Stake for Very Young Children

    Elisabeth Wright Burak

    Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) has sounded the alarm bells for more than a year warning that without strong state leadership and careful attention, millions of children, parents, disabled people and others eligible for Medicaid could be erroneously disenrolled for procedural reasons. Children are far more likely to lose Medicaid and CHIP…

  • Update: North Carolina Passed Medicaid Expansion – Here’s How Politicians Justified Change of Heart

    Adam Searing

    In March this year, the North Carolina legislature passed Medicaid expansion with bipartisan support, becoming the first state to pass expansion legislatively since Virginia in 2018. In an interesting turn of events, many House and Senate Republicans in North Carolina, who for years staunchly opposed expanding Medicaid, changed their positions leading up to the bill’s…

  • Low-Income Parents at Significant Risk Under the House-Passed Medicaid Work Reporting Requirements in Debt Ceiling Bill

    Joan Alker

    We’ve been closely reading Section 321 of the House-passed debt ceiling bill which would establish a pernicious new maze of red tape to trip people up and cause them to lose Medicaid coverage. While posing as a “work requirement”, this is really a plan to make people jump through more hoops in order to keep…

  • More States Extend Postpartum Medicaid Coverage as Three States Fall Behind

    Maggie Clark

    Just this month, Missouri and Alaska joined the growing list of states where their legislatures approved extending postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to 12  months, following Mississippi, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, and other states that have acted this year. CMS is expected to approve the extensions after the states submit their state plan amendment…

  • A Closer Look at the Network Adequacy Provisions of CMS’s Proposed Medicaid Managed Care Rule

    Andy Schneider

    Editor’s Note: Since this post was published, CCF submitted formal comments on the Managed Care proposed rule.  Last week my colleague Kelly Whitener promised readers of the Say Ahhh! Blog a series of blogs on the proposed rules that CMS has published to improve access to care in Medicaid and CHIP.  Promises made, promises kept. …

  • CMS Proposes to Revamp Medicaid Advisory Committees

    Hannah Green

    Editor’s Note: Since this post was published, CCF submitted formal comments on both the Medicaid Access and Managed Care proposed rules.  Just a few months ago, we urged Medicaid advocates to consider leveraging their state Medicaid advisory committees to help improve their Medicaid programs. But now we’re happy to report that exciting changes may be…

  • State Medicaid Child Behavioral Health Data: Dashboard Library Update

    Anne Dwyer

    First debuted in 2021, CCF’s Child Health Dashboard Library highlights states that post important information about children with Medicaid/CHIP into a central and easily accessible location in a readable (or even better, interactive) format. This includes data on enrollment, quality of care, utilization rates, and managed care performance – the type of information that is…

  • A Closer Look at Medicaid Call Center Options as the Unwinding Kicks into High Gear

    Hannah Green

    More than a year ago, we posted a blog warning that call center statistics would be the canary in the coalmine as states began the unprecedented challenge of renewing coverage for all 92 million Medicaid enrollees now that the COVID-related continuous enrollment requirement has ended. We all know how frustrating it can be when you…

  • New CMS Guidance Encourages State Demonstrations to Improve Transitions into the Community for Individuals Released After Incarceration

    Hannah Green

    On April 17, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), issued new guidance sharing a new opportunity for states interested in improving transitions from state incarceration to the community. The grotesque racial inequities in justice-involved populations, combined with abrupt transitions back into community settings without health supports after incarceration, lead to poor post-release health…

  • Effective Medicaid Renewal Notices Are Key to Getting it Right During Unwinding

    Hannah Green

    With the first week in May upon us, all 50 states have now begun initiating renewals for Medicaid enrollees, starting the clock on their unwinding process. We’ve already gotten  a glimpse of what may be coming with data on coverage losses from Arizona and Idaho, both states that started terminations in April. The second wave…

  • A Closer Look at CMS’s Proposed Rule to Improve Access to Care in Medicaid and CHIP

    Kelly Whitener

    Editor’s Note: Since this post was published, CCF submitted formal comments on both the Medicaid Access and Managed Care proposed rules.  The Biden Administration recently proposed two new rules on access to care in Medicaid and CHIP. The rules have long, formal titles: “Medicaid Program: Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services” and “Medicaid Program: Medicaid and…

  • McCarthy Bill Would Radically Change Disability Standards for Medicaid and Reduce Coverage for Persons with Disabilities

    Hannah Green

    As my colleagues Joan Alker and Edwin Park recently discussed, Section 321 of Speaker McCarthy’s debt ceiling bill, passed on a party-line vote in the House on April 26, 2023, would impose mandatory work reporting requirements on Medicaid nationwide, burdening states and worsening the health of millions of people. The Congressional Budget Office estimates this…

  • Expedited CMS Approvals in Washington and Oregon Can Further Minimize Coverage Disruptions, Aid Unwinding

    Elisabeth Wright Burak

    New CMS approvals in Oregon and Washington will protect health coverage for more children and families during this year’s consequential unwinding, minimizing coverage disruptions and easing transitions to new sources of health coverage. Oregon receives approval to ease coverage transitions for certain adults, allowing them to stay in Medicaid until they can transition to alternative…

  • Biden Administration Proposes Two New Rules to Significantly Improve Access to Care for Consumers Enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP

    Kelly Whitener

    Editor’s Note: Since this post was published, CCF submitted formal comments on both the Medicaid Access and Managed Care proposed rules.  If you thought you saw fireworks last night, it could be in celebration of the Biden Administration posting two(!) proposed rules yesterday tackling access to care in Medicaid and CHIP. It will take some…

  • Taking a Closer Look at the CBO Estimates of Speaker McCarthy’s Damaging Medicaid Work Reporting Requirement

    Edwin Park

    On April 26, 2023, on a party-line vote, the House passed Speaker McCarthy’s debt ceiling bill (H.R. 2811).  The bill would institute trillions of dollars in draconian spending cuts as the price for raising the debt ceiling for less than one year and avoiding catastrophic default on the nation’s debt. As we have written, the…

  • Biden Administration Takes Step to Improve DACA Grantees’ Access to Health Coverage, Congress and States Should Do More

    Kelly Whitener

    Following up on President Biden’s announcement earlier this month, HHS released a proposed rule that would make DACA grantees eligible for Marketplace coverage and some Medicaid/CHIP coverage. This is an important step in the right direction – removing unnecessary and unjustified barriers to health coverage for DACA grantees – but there is more work to…