Editor’s Note: This post was authored by Managing Principal Roxane Townsend, MD, and Senior Consultant Jeannine Hinton, LCSW, MHA.
HMA recently completed efforts to help the State of Louisiana and Louisiana State University (LSU) enter into a cooperative endeavor agreement with Ochsner LSU Health System of North Louisiana, a private nonprofit corporation.
Editor’s Note: HMA Principals Karen Batia, David Bergman, Meggan Schilkie and Senior Consultants Meghan Manilla and Nicola Pinson contributed to this post.
Across the country, behavioral healthcare is stretched thin and access to specialty care is a challenge. As value-based payment makes its way to the forefront, more than ever government entities, providers, payers and community-based organizations are exploring new avenues to meet shifting priorities and the requirements that accompany them.
This week, our In Focus section is led by Matt Powers, a Principal in our Chicago office, who worked with HMA colleagues to summarize the factors that non-expansion states weigh when considering whether or not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Including the states where Medicaid expansion ballot initiatives passed, 37 states have chosen Medicaid expansion or are moving toward Medicaid expansion. More than 12 million newly eligible individuals are insured by state Medicaid programs through the expansion. Comments on recent ACA Court Ruling:
Editor’s Note: This post was authored by Principal Rebecca Kellenberg.
Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) contracted with HMA to serve as the independent evaluator of the Tribal Systems of Care grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). In this four-year role, HMA will assist in reporting on project evaluation data to show progress in meeting the goals and objectives of the grant as well as the fidelity, implementation, and impact of the project in the participating tribal communities.
This week, our In Focus section reviews updated information issued by the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Medicaid expansion enrollment from the “September 2018 Medicaid and CHIP Application, Eligibility Determination, and Enrollment Report,” published on November 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 in 2018, representing 73 million Medicaid and CHIP enrollees and nearly 12 million Exchange enrollees.
This week, our In Focus section comes to us from HMA Senior Consultant Erin Mathies (Indianapolis), who reviews the premium assistance programs for the working adult population in Medicaid expansion states. Medicaid programs that pay for premiums in commercial insurance for individuals eligible for Medicaid have been part of state Medicaid programs since the 1990s. Under a premium assistance program, the employer or individual market coverage is the primary plan and Medicaid supports the cost of the premium, pays for cost sharing, and provides any wrapped benefits. These programs can save money for state Medicaid agencies by leveraging the employer contribution towards premiums and holding expenditures per member to the annual out of pocket maximum amounts. Existing Health Insurance Premium Payment (HIPP) programs traditionally cover children and populations with disabilities. Individuals eligible under the Medicaid Expansions may be more likely to have access to employer sponsored-insurance (ESI) and leveraging premium assistance options for these populations represents an unrealized opportunity for many state Medicaid agencies.