Vulnerable Populations
CMS Highlights EPSDT Policies and Strategies for Improving Care for Children with Behavioral Health Needs
As discussed in our blog series on the CMS’s new EPSDT guidance, the 57 page state health official letter lays out a number of policies and strategies to help states meet their EPSDT requirements under Medicaid – including care for children with behavioral health needs. As you may recall, in 2022, CMS released an informational […]
House Budget Proposal Seeks to Eliminate Healthy Start, a Proven Program to Reduce Maternal and Infant Mortality
By Kay Johnson For more than 30 years, the federal Healthy Start program has been investing in community-based solutions to reduce maternal and infant mortality in communities with infant mortality rates at least 1.5 times the U.S. national average. At a time when many are rightly calling for more community and family engagement to reduce […]
A Look at Maternal Health Legislation in the 118th Congress
By: Tanesha Mondestin and Kay Johnson Maternal health continues to be a priority for many Members of Congress. We previously scanned maternal health legislation that Members of Congress may consider in the 2022 “Lame Duck” session. We revisited this topic this election year to consider proposals pending in the 118th Congress as their chance of […]
Congressional Appropriations Proposals Cut Maternal Health Investments
By: Elisabeth Wright Burak, Kay Johnson, and Tanesha Mondestin In 2022, the maternal mortality rate for 2022 decreased to 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared with a rate of 32.9 in 2022. Black and Indigenous mothers have maternal mortality rates much higher than other racial/ethnic groups. And beyond the narrower category of maternal mortality […]
CMS EPSDT Guidance Blog Series
CMS released a state health official (SHO) letter outlining the requirements states and managed care plans must meet under Medicaid’s pediatric benefit, known as Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment or EPSDT. The EPSDT SHO also describes some strategies and identifies best practices currently in use by states to meet the various requirements. This […]
CMS EPSDT Guidance: MCO Monitoring and Oversight Critical, States Ultimately Responsible
We at Georgetown CCF have been poring over CMS’s new EPSDT state health official (SHO) letter. Naturally, we do have some favorite points and analysis we will continue to highlight through this series on Say Ahhh!!! Today’s topic: The importance of state agency oversight of Medicaid managed care organizations, which the SHO refers to as […]
