This week, our In Focus section reviews the Ohio Medicaid Managed Care request for applications (RFA) released by the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) on September 30, 2020. The RFA follows the release of two requests for information (RFIs) in June 2019 and February 2020, soliciting feedback from individuals, providers, and interested bidders to help design a new Medicaid managed care program. Ohio will award contracts, worth over $11 billion annually, to no more than five managed care organizations (MCOs) in each of the state’s three regions (Central/Southeast Region, Northeast Region, and West Region), with implementation beginning January 5, 2022. The procurement will not include the MyCare Ohio dual demonstration.
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Health Management Associates Names Douglas Elwell CEO; Charles (Chuck) Milligan Joins Firm as COO
Health Management Associates (HMA) announced today that Chief Operating Officer Douglas (Doug) L. Elwell will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer, effective Nov. 1.

CMS considers expanding Medicaid APMs to control spending growth
On September 15, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released State Medicaid Director (SMD) letter #20-004 regarding value-based care (VBC) opportunities in Medicaid. [1] In the letter, CMS lays out a road map for state Medicaid agencies to adopt value-based payment (VBP). The SMD describes how states can use existing – or obtain new – authorities to adopt VBP. It lists examples of successful VBP designs in other states and identifies key enabling factors from its examination of lessons learned over the last ten years of investments in VBC activities.

HMA to lead Integrated Care Technical Assistance Program in the District of Columbia
The District of Columbia’s Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) has engaged Health Management Associates (HMA) to spearhead a multi-year training and coaching effort across the District. The five-year project will support Medicaid providers’ efforts to deliver whole person care by integrating physical and behavioral health in order to better manage the complex needs of Medicaid beneficiaries.

Webinar Replay: Medicare, Medicaid and the ACA’s Evolution After the 2020 Presidential Election
This webinar was held on September 30, 2020.
The upcoming federal elections portend tremendous change for federal health care programs, in particular Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. If there is a change in administration and Congressional control, stakeholders should expect rapid implementation of new policy agendas and regulatory frameworks. New presidents generally pursue aggressive policy and regulatory agendas to fulfill campaign promises and quickly secure their policy objectives. Second-term presidents seek to solidify and extend their policy legacies. Health care stakeholders should begin to prepare for potential changes now to ensure that their organizations are best positioned for 2021 and beyond.
Through a new collaboration between Health Management Associates (HMA) and Dentons global law firm, a former presidential candidate and governor, presidential transition team veterans, former federal government administrators, and health policy experts outlined the different health care platforms of the Biden and Trump campaigns. The webinar explored:
- The major differences in policy positions and how a Trump or Biden Administration will administer the Medicare, Medicaid and Affordable Care Act (ACA) programs.
- How the current COVID-19 pandemic, economic downturn, and a potential Supreme Court decision will shape these agendas.
- The process for presidential transitions and how new governing and regulatory agendas are established.
During this webinar, the first in a series hosted by HMA and Dentons, presenters discussed the implications of the upcoming elections and their potential impact on federal health program policies and regulatory agendas.
Speakers
Governor Howard Dean (VT), Former Presidential Candidate & Senior Advisor, Dentons’ Public Policy and Regulation Practice
Kathleen Nolan, Regional Vice President, HMA
Jonathan Blum, Vice President, Federal Policy & Managing Director, Medicare, HMA
Bruce Fried, Partner, Dentons’ Health Care Practice

Missouri Pharmacy and Clinical Services Management Solution RFI; Kentucky Pharmacy Benefit Manager RFP
This week, our In Focus sections reviews the Missouri HealthNet Pharmacy and Clinical Services Management Solution request for information (RFI) and the Kentucky Medicaid Managed Care Organization (MCO) Pharmacy Benefit Manager request for proposals (RFP).

CMS finalizes policy using hospital negotiated charge data for payment rates
This week, our In Focus section reviews the policy changes included in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Acute Care Hospital (LTCH) Final Rule (CMS-1735-F). This year’s IPPS Final Rule includes several important policy changes that will change hospitals’ administrative procedures and may alter hospitals’ Medicare margins, beginning as soon as October 1, 2020.

California releases Medi-Cal managed care RFI
This week, our In Focus section reviews the California request for information (RFI) regarding the Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan (MCP) contract and the upcoming Medi-Cal MCP procurement. The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is seeking information to update boilerplate contracts and develop the request for proposals (RFP) scheduled for release in 2021.

Health Management Associates Acquires Health Policy Consulting Firm Burns & Associates
Today, Jay Rosen, founder and president of Health Management Associates (HMA), announced the firm’s acquisition of Burns & Associates, Inc., an Arizona-based health policy consulting firm that specializes in innovative approaches to the financing and delivery of health care and human services.

Webinar Replay – Health Performance Accelerator Webinar Series: How States Are Rethinking Medicaid Managed Care Performance Management
This webinar was held on September 8, 2020.
State Medicaid agencies (SMAs) are actively exploring improved approaches to managing the performance of Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) and accountable care organizations (ACOs), emphasizing tailored quality measures, new incentive models, more effective use of information technology, and revised contract requirements.
During this webinar, experts from HMA and HealthEC outlined potential improvements to MCO/ACO performance management and showcased ways in which information technology can be deployed to enable these improvements.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn about ways in which the number and mix of measures, the design of business processes and use of information systems should change to achieve improvements in MCO/ACO performance management.
- Learn how HMA can work with SMAs on performance management initiatives.
- Find out how IT solutions such as HealthEC’s can dramatically improve SMA processes such as data aggregation, synthesis, transformation, validation, and comparative analysis in support of performance management system improvements.
Speakers
Steve Soto, Principal, HMA
Sita Kapoor, HealthEC, Chief Information Officer

HMA examines current state of Medicare-Medicaid integration programs
The experts at Health Management Associates (HMA) have released the Medicare-Medicaid Integration: Reflecting on Progress to Date and Charting the Path to Making Integrated Programs Available to all Dually Eligible Individuals issue brief and companion bibliography appendix, the second in a series of issue briefs examining Medicare-Medicaid integrated programs.
Based on HMA’s review of the literature and available public information, this brief summarizes the elements for success and barriers encountered by integrated programs. It concludes with essential questions and next steps to move forward with federal and state public policies and care delivery options centered around, informed by, and available to, more dually eligible individuals.
HMA colleagues Sarah Barth, Jon Blum, Elaine Henry, Narda Ipakchi and Sharon Silow-Carroll contributed to the research and final brief.
For the next phase of research, HMA will convene and interview individuals, their families and other caregivers, providers, payers, community-based organizations, state government, and other stakeholders in select regions across the country.
The project was funded by a grant from Arnold Ventures, a philanthropy dedicated to tackling some of the most pressing problems in the United States.

Health Management Associates, HealthEC Announce New Collaboration
Today, Jay Rosen, founder and president of Health Management Associates (HMA), and Arthur Kapoor, president and CEO of HealthEC, announced the two firms have engaged in an effort designed to accelerate improvements in healthcare service delivery and outcomes.