Opioid Crisis Response

HMA Launches Novel Project ECHO for MOUD in County Jails

Aimed at shifting and improving the delivery of addiction treatment within county jails, Health Management Associates (HMA) will partner with the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (W/B HIDTA) and Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office to deliver a novel Project ECHO clinic. Funded by W/B HIDTA to support county jails in their region, the Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) in County Jails ECHO Clinic will provide participants with HMA training specifically focused on initiating or expanding the use of MOUD within their facilities. The project will broaden county knowledge and understanding of MOUD and its place in the criminal justice system, increase the use of MOUD with evidence-based and emerging promising practices, and promote a culture that supports MOUD in jails.

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A Short-Term Path to Avoid ACA Uncertainty as the Pandemic Continues

In this week’s In Focus section, Health Management Associates (HMA) Managing Director MMS Matt Powers, Senior Consultant Kaitlyn Feiock, and Regional Vice President Kathleen Nolan look at the future of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). On November 10, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) heard oral arguments for California v. Texas, challenging the constitutionality and severability of the ACA.  This challenge became possible after the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which zeroed out the individual mandate penalty for not purchasing health insurance.  While most experts agree that an entire invalidation of the ACA is the least likely outcome based on the oral arguments, some uncertainty remains and more than $100 billion federal funds are at risk. The ACA standardized insurance rules offset premium costs for many individual market consumers and provided authority and funding for Medicaid Expansions in the overwhelming majority of states. The ACA also included other provisions that may be at risk but are not the subject of this note, such as the creation of Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) and the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office, as well as demonstration authority that has led to the creation of numerous coverage models.  As states, Congress, and the federal executive branch face the possibility that the ACA may not survive in its present form, what mitigation strategies are available at the state and federal levels to stabilize uncertainties and protect against abrupt coverage changes?

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Highlights from Kaiser/HMA 50-State Medicaid Director Survey

This week, our In Focus section shares highlights and key takeaways from the 20th annual Medicaid Budget Survey conducted by The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and Health Management Associates (HMA). Survey results were released on October 14, 2020, in two new reports: State Medicaid Programs Respond to Meet COVID-19 Challenges: Results from a 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey for State Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021 and Medicaid Enrollment & Spending Growth: FY 2020 & 2021. The reports were prepared by Kathleen Giff­ordAimee Lashbrook, and Sarah Barth from HMA and by Elizabeth Hinton, Robin Rudowitz, Madeline Guth, and Lina Stolyar from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The survey was conducted in collaboration with the National Association of Medicaid Directors.

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Leaders in Justice and Child Welfare Systems Explain How HMA-Developed MAT Training Can Keep Families Together

Focused on ongoing support and solutions for those living with opioid use disorder (OUD), Health Management Associates (HMA) has developed a robust web-based training program about addiction and its treatment in the criminal justice and child welfare systems, including access to, and continued use of, medications for addiction treatment (MAT).

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HMA Announces Cancellation of 2020 Annual Conference

Health Management Associates has made the decision to cancel its October 2020 conference on Trends in Publicly Sponsored Healthcare, given continuing developments concerning COVID-19 and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of attendees, speakers, and staff. Full refunds will be made to registered attendees and sponsors.

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Early Bird Registration Expires July 29 for HMA Conference, October 26-27 in Chicago

Be sure to register soon for HMA’s conference on What’s Next for Medicaid, Medicare, and Publicly Sponsored Healthcare: How Payers, Providers, and States Are Navigating a Future of Opportunity and Uncertainty, October 26-27, at the Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park. The Early Bird registration rate of $1595 per person expires on July 29.  After that, the rate is $1795.

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Webinar Alert: Evidence-Based Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in Correctional Settings

HMA is cohosting a webinar with the National Commission on Correctional Health Care.

Opioid use disorder is a chronic brain disease with effective, evidence-based treatments, and is a condition protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Prisons and jails are expected, by national health care and justice organizations and by communities, to treat incarcerated persons with OUD in accordance with evidence-based practices. This webinar reviews the most current evidence-based care for opioid withdrawal and OUD treatment and provides clinicians with strategies to move correctional health practices into compliance with national and community standards.

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