Blog

North Carolina Prepaid Health Plans Policy Paper

This week, our In Focus section reviews the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Medicaid Managed Care Proposed Policy Paper released on May 16, 2018, Prepaid Health Plans in North Carolina Medicaid Managed Care, ahead of a competitive procurement for the new Medicaid managed care program expected to be released in spring or summer 2018. North Carolina will be contracting with statewide Medicaid managed care organizations (Commercial Plans, CPs) as well as regional provider-led managed care entities (Provider-Led Entities, PLEs) to serve 1.9 million Medicaid beneficiaries beginning in 2019. All plans are considered by the state to be Prepaid Health Plans (PHPs). The policy paper provides additional detail on the characteristics and requirements that apply to CPs and PLEs. To read HMA’s previous analysis of “North Carolina’s Proposed Program Design for Medicaid Managed Care,” click here.

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HHS Releases Blueprint to Address Prescription Drug Costs

This week, our In Focus, written by HMA Principal Anne Winter and Senior Consultant Aimee Lashbrook, examines American Patients First:  The Trump Administration Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Costs, released May 11, 2018. Over time, the pharmaceutical supply chain has become a complex ecosystem, responding to the ever-changing dynamics of new drug products, pricing strategies, health care reform, benefit design, and the regulatory environment making it, arguably, the most complicated in health care. Due to this complexity, solutions to equitably control drug pricing will take a multiprong approach that includes regulatory redesign.

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Medicaid and Exchange Enrollment Update – 2017-18

This week, our In Focus section reviews updated reports issued by the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Medicaid expansion enrollment from the “December 2017 Medicaid and CHIP Application, Eligibility Determination, and Enrollment Report,” published on April 30, 2018. Additionally, we review 2018 Exchange enrollment data from the “Health Insurance Marketplaces 2018 Open Enrollment Period: Final State-Level Public Use File,” published by CMS on April 3, 2018. Combined, these reports present a picture of Medicaid and Exchange enrollment at the beginning of 2018, representing more than 74 million Medicaid and CHIP enrollees and nearly 12 million Exchange enrollees.

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Electronic Visit Verification: Implications for States, Providers, and Medicaid Participants

This week, our In Focus, written by HMA Principal Jen Burnett in collaboration with the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD), summarizes key considerations and policy decisions contained in Electronic Visit Verification: Implications for States, Providers, and Medicaid Participants for state consideration as they work to implement electronic visit verification (EVV) systems in accordance with the mandate included in the December 2016 21st Century Cures Act (the CURES Act).

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Medicaid Community Engagement Initiatives: A Comparison Of Three States

This week, our In Focus is the second in a series written by HMA Medicaid Market Solutions (MMS), which has worked with a number of states to design and implement Section 1115 Demonstration Waivers that support individual state goals for member engagement and personal responsibility while complying with new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance.

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