Say Ahhh!
-
CMS Issues Guidance on New Postpartum Coverage State Option in Medicaid and CHIP
Today CMS released highly anticipated guidance to states implementing the new Medicaid and CHIP state plan option to provide 12 months of extended postpartum coverage to pregnant individuals enrolled in Medicaid beginning April 1, 2022. Created by the American Rescue Plan Act passed earlier this year, this policy option has been widely embraced by states…
-
A Few Key Data Points Are Essential in Monitoring Medicaid Enrollment When the Continuous Enrollment Requirement is Lifted
The lifting of the continuous enrollment requirement associated with the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) is inevitable, whether it be after the PHE ends or on April 1, 2022 as proposed in the Build Back Better (BBB) Act passed by the House. Regardless of what happens, millions of enrollees are likely to be disenrolled from…
-
CMS Tools Suggest Key Roles for Managed Care Plans in Helping Enrollees Retain Coverage
While we were all unwinding from our Thanksgiving celebrations, CMS was busy putting out two new tools to assist state Medicaid eligibility and enrollment operations. The first is focused on preparing for the return to normal operations after the COVID-related continuous enrollment requirement is lifted while the second is a refresher on best practices and…
-
A Tale of Two Medicaid Expansions: Missouri v. Oklahoma
In fishing, what one does with the rod after casting the line and hook into the water is as important to success as getting the lure in the right spot of the stream. Following through with enough wiggle and bounce to make that lure look alive is crucial to actually landing a fish for dinner.…
-
Recent Resources from Healthy Schools Campaign Illuminate That There is Still Much To-Do to Advance Medicaid Reimbursement in Schools
Pop quiz: How many schools have a full-time nurse on staff? If you guessed anything above 40%, you would unfortunately be wrong. Only 39% of schools in the nation employ full-time school nurses. If you think the numbers on school behavioral health professionals would be better, you would unfortunately be wrong again. 8 million students…
-
Just One More Week to Comment on DACA!
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy in September, and comments are due Monday, November 29. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we applaud DHS for taking the important step of codifying the DACA policy in regulation, but we think there…
-
Build Back Better Act Clears Major Hurdle
The Build Back Better budget reconciliation bill, approved by the U.S. House of Representatives today, includes numerous provisions that would dramatically strengthen and expand both public and private health insurance coverage. The Build Back Better Act prioritizes children’s health, takes critical steps to address our nation’s maternal health crisis, helps close the coverage gap for…
-
Build Back Better Legislation: What Does It Mean for Children’s Health Coverage and Care?
There has been very little public discussion of the provisions to advance child health in the Build Back Better (BBB) bill. Big ticket items like whether a Medicare dental, hearing, and vision benefit will be added, disputes over drug pricing reforms, and of course, filling the coverage gap in the non-expansion states, have taken up…
-
Maternal Health Home Option in Build Back Better Plan Lays Groundwork for Two-Generation Success
Released in late October, the most recent House text of the Build Back Better plan included an exciting late addition: a new Medicaid pathway to incentivize high-quality, team-based care for pregnant and postpartum people. The new state option provides a temporary enhanced match to develop and grow practices to comprehensively anticipate and coordinate care needs,…
-
Comment Period for New DACA Regulation Closes November 29
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a new notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals,” in late September and the comment deadline of November 29 is fast approaching. The NPRM seeks to codify the DACA policy originally laid out in a memo by then-Secretary of DHS Janet Napolitano in June 2012.…
-
Three New State-Based Marketplaces Are Up and Running
By Rachel Swindle We’re a week into Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace open enrollment, and it looks like the three newest marketplaces, Kentucky, Maine, and New Mexico, are off to a solid start. These three states successfully transitioned this year from the federal marketplace platform, HealthCare.gov, to a full state-based marketplace (SBM). They join fourteen other states and the District…
-
New and Improved Navigator Resource Guide Answers Common Enrollment Questions, Spotlights Innovative Outreach for Communities of Focus
November 1 marked the start of the Affordable Care Act’s eighth open enrollment season in most states. To help marketplace Navigators and others assisting consumers with marketplace eligibility and enrollment, we at CHIR have updated and improved our Navigator Resource Guide. The Guide is a practical, hands-on resource with over 300 frequently asked questions (FAQs) on topics such as marketplace eligibility, premium and…
-
Misleading Marketing of Non-ACA Health Plans Continued During COVID-19 Special Enrollment Period
By Dania Palanker and JoAnn Volk Millions of Americans are eligible for health insurance plans with low or no premiums and significantly reduced cost-sharing this coming open enrollment period thanks to enhanced marketplace subsidies under the American Rescue Plan (ARP). But misleading marketing practices may direct some consumers to alternative plans that lack the Affordable Care…
-
HHS Secretary Becerra Approves New Jersey Waiver Request to Extend Postpartum Medicaid Coverage
New mothers covered by Medicaid and CHIP in New Jersey will now be able to stay enrolled for one year after the end of pregnancy under a Medicaid Section 1115 waiver approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. The state will extend postpartum coverage for individuals from the state’s current pregnancy coverage cutoff at…
-
Maternal Depression and Medicaid Policy Solutions Highlighted in Special Issue of Health Affairs
About one in five pregnant and postpartum people are diagnosed with mental health conditions each year, and a new research finding adds to the growing body of evidence that sustained Medicaid coverage before, during, and after pregnancy can help. Medicaid expansion was associated with a 16 percent decline in self-reported pre-pregnancy depression and the improvements…
-
Medicaid Managed Care: Results for the “Big Five” in Q3
The Q3 results for the “Big Five” are in. Loyal readers of the Say Ahhh! Blog will recognize them as the publicly-traded companies with the largest shares of the Medicaid managed care market: Aetna/CVS, Anthem, Centene, Molina, and UnitedHealth Group. Their Medicaid footprints for the quarter ending September 30, summarized below, reflect a continuation of…
-
Advocacy Tips to Connect Afghan Evacuees to Health Coverage
Even close followers of Congress and the Administration may have missed a couple of recent developments about access to health coverage for Afghan evacuees arriving in the US following the withdrawal of troops this summer. The complexity of immigration rules and Medicaid eligibility rules has led to a lot of confusion about Medicaid eligibility specifically,…
-
Reconciliation Bill Would Phase Out Medicaid Continuous Coverage Requirement with Key Enrollee Protections
There are many positive provisions in the Build Back Better Act (BBB) reconciliation bill as described by my colleague, Edwin Park, including filling the Medicaid coverage gap in non-expansion states, extending postpartum coverage, and making CHIP permanent. The BBB bill also phases out the 6.2 percentage point increase in the federal Medicaid funding and allows…
-
Build Back Better Reconciliation Bill Would Take Big Strides in Expanding Health Coverage and Access for Children and Families
[Editor’s Note: The U.S. House of Representatives approved a revised Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation bill on November 19, 2021. This brief by Georgetown University CCF and CHIR explain the Medicaid, CHIP, and private health insurance provisions.] Yesterday, the House Rules Committee unveiled a compromise reconciliation bill which includes numerous provisions that dramatically strengthen…
-
To Avoid Big Coverage Losses, Marketplaces Need to Prepare for the End of the Public Health Emergency
By Sabrina Corlette and Megan Houston The COVID-19 pandemic will end, and with it the federal government is expected to lift the “Public Health Emergency” (PHE) first declared on January 31, 2020 and extended seven times since then. Allowing the PHE to expire is more than the symbolic end of the pandemic; it signals the termination of numerous policies…
