coronavirus

News and Notes on Medicaid Prescription Drug Pricing and Coverage Issues

Unfortunately, Congress has largely shelved drug pricing legislation, including sound proposals to lower federal and state Medicaid drug costs, as it focuses on legislation responding to the ongoing COVID-19 health and economic crisis.  Nevertheless, there have some developments in the area of Medicaid prescription drug pricing and coverage over the last few months that are […]

HEROES Act Includes Other Provisions Strengthening Medicaid and CHIP

The HEROES Act bill (H.R. 6800), which the House will likely consider Friday, May 13, would provide a critically needed, additional one-year increase in the federal Medicaid matching rate (FMAP) and block the Trump Administration from finalizing the damaging Medicaid Financial Accountability Rule (MFAR) during the duration of the public health emergency.  It also includes […]

House HEROES Act Bill Would Provide Significant Further Support for State Medicaid Programs

As I have previously written, while helpful, the temporary 6.2 percentage point increase in the federal Medicaid matching rate (FMAP) provided by the Families First COVID-19 response legislation (P.L. 116-127) is clearly insufficient to address the sharply higher state Medicaid costs and overall budget deficits states will experience in this health and economic crisis.  That […]

Waive, Suspend, Delay, Eliminate, Forgive CHIP Premiums? Semantics Matter for Families who Need Fiscal Relief from COVID-19 Impacts

As families lose their jobs and employer-sponsored health insurance, eliminating Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) premiums is a great way to provide continuity of coverage for children and fiscal relief for families. But there may be a catch. While some states are submitting state plan amendments to waive collection of premiums or temporarily halt disenrollments […]