Clinical Services

Navigating CMS’ Proposed Medicaid Managed Care Regulations

This week’s HMA Weekly Roundup features an In Focus article from HMA Senior Consultants Amber Swartzell and Stephanie Baume (Indiana), who reviewed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed Medicaid managed care regulations. On November 8, 2018, CMS released a proposed rule that would update several sections of the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) managed care rules, which were most recently amended in 2016. This much anticipated proposal, scheduled to appear in the Federal Register on November 14, 2018, focuses on “promoting flexibility, strengthening accountability, and maintaining and enhancing program integrity.” The key provisions of the proposed regulations are summarized below.

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Texas Medicaid and CHIP Managed Care Final Comprehensive Report

This week, our In Focus section comes to us from Senior Consultant Ryan Mooney, reviewing the Texas Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Evaluation report. The 85th Legislature of the State of Texas required the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to report on its findings for Rider 61, Evaluation of Medicaid Managed Care (the Report). HHSC recently published the Report, which includes the following:

  1. Rider 61(a) – A review of the current Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) managed care delivery system and an assessment of the performance of managed care;
  2. Rider 61(b) – An assessment of Medicaid and CHIP managed care contract review and oversight;
  3. Rider 61(c) – A study of Medicaid Managed Care rate setting processes and methodologies in other states; and
  4. Rider 61(d) – An analysis of MCO administrative costs, including a survey of each MCO to determine the nature and scale of administrative resources devoted to the Texas Medicaid and CHIP programs and the identification of cost reduction opportunities.

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Highlights From This Week’s HMA Conference On The Rapidly Changing World Of Medicaid

This week, our In Focus section provides a recap of the third annual HMA Conference, The Rapidly Changing World of Medicaid: Opportunities and Pitfalls for Payers, Providers and States, held this Monday, October 1, and Tuesday, October 2, in Chicago, Illinois. More than 450 leading executives representing managed care organizations, providers, state and federal government, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders in the health care field gathered to address the opportunities and challenges facing health plans, states, and providers as they strive to provide the best possible care to Medicaid beneficiaries and other vulnerable populations at a time of significant uncertainty and change. Conference participants heard from keynote speakers, engaged in panel discussions and connected during informal networking opportunities. Below is a summary of highlights from this year’s conference.

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Benefit Options for the Medicaid Expansion Population: Alternative Benefit Plans and the Medically Frail

This week, our In Focus section highlights HMA Medicaid Market Solutions (MMS) which is supporting state flexibility in designing and implementing initiatives, including Section 1115 Demonstration Waivers, promoting member engagement, and personal responsibility. Over the coming weeks, HMA MMS will present a series of articles providing an in-depth look at the facets of these new Medicaid models.

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Registration Open for HMA Conference on the Rapidly Changing World of Medicaid

HMA Conference on the Rapidly Changing World of Medicaid to Feature Insights from 30-Plus Speakers, Including Health Plan CEOs, State Medicaid Directors, Providers

Pre-Conference Workshop: Sept. 30
Conference: Oct. 1-2
Location: The Palmer House, Chicago

Health Management Associates is proud to announce its third annual conference on trends in publicly sponsored health care: The Rapidly Changing World of Medicaid: Opportunities and Pitfalls for Payers, Providers and States.

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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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Alabama Integrated Care Network Program

This week, our In Focus section reviews Alabama’s Integrated Care Network (ICN) program, based on a concept paper released by the Alabama Medicaid Agency in March 2018. The ICN program will establish a new Medicaid long-term care program focusing on a person-centered approach to care delivery using the Primary Care Case Management (PCCM) Entity delivery model, with implementation expected on October 1, 2018.

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HCBS Settings Rule Issue Briefs

This week’s In Focus section highlights four briefs written by Health Management Associates (HMA) in collaboration with the National Council on Assisted Living that address key areas of compliance with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) home and community-based services (HCBS) settings final rule. The briefs are intended to inform states and Assisted Living (AL) communities on common challenges facing AL communities, the strategies for compliance available, and the steps states have taken to address them in their approved statewide transition plans. To create the briefs, HMA analyzed the regulations, CMS guidance, and the statewide transition plans that had received final approval from CMS at the time of writing. State plans reviewed were: Arkansas, District of Columbia, Delaware, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Washington.

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SNP Provisions of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018

This week’s In Focus section reviews the recent Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (the Act), which adopts policies aimed at improving care for Medicare beneficiaries with chronic conditions, including individuals dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid (dual eligible individuals). The Act provides new authority to the Federal Coordinated Health Care Office (Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office or MMCO), which serves dual eligible individuals, and will help accelerate its goals of providing full access to seamless, high quality health care and a system that is as cost-effective as possible.[i] The Act also includes several provisions that have an impact on Medicare Advantage (MA) Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs). These provisions and their implications for D-SNPs and Medicare-Medicaid integration strategies follow.

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Washington Releases 2019/2020 Integrated Managed Care RFP

This week’s In Focus section reviews Washington’s 2019/2020 Integrated Managed Care (IMC) request for proposals (RFP) issued by the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) on February 15, 2018 to provide 1.6 million Medicaid enrollees with both physical and behavioral health services. The procurement will expand Washington’s Apple Health – IMC program (formerly known as Fully Integrated Managed Care (FIMC)) to eight additional Regional Service Areas (RSAs) and add an additional managed care organization to the Southwest RSA. It will also add one county to the Southwest RSA and one county to the North Central RSA.

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