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HMA Insights: Your source for healthcare news, ideas and analysis.

HMA Insights – including our new podcast – puts the vast depth of HMA’s expertise at your fingertips, helping you stay informed about the latest healthcare trends and topics. Below, you can easily search based on your topic of interest to find useful information from our podcast, blogs, webinars, case studies, reports and more.

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Blog

The Policy, Implementation and Operations of Medicaid Personal Responsibility Initiatives: An Introduction

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This week, our In Focus section highlights HMA Medicaid Market Solutions (MMS), formerly SVC, Inc., which is at the forefront in 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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Brief & Report

Governors’ Proposed Budgets for FY 2019: Focus on Medicaid and Other Health Priorities

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This issue brief provides Medicaid highlights from governors’ proposed budgets for state fiscal year (FY) 2019 (July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019 in most states). Proposed budgets reflect the priorities of the governor and are often blueprints for the legislature to consider. In total, 39 proposed state budgets and text from 46 state of the state speeches were reviewed. This review revealed that while state revenue collections improved in 2017 compared to 2016, considerable economic and regional variation persists, many states are facing significant budget challenges unrelated to Medicaid such as unfunded pension liabilities or falling oil prices, and the outlook for 2018 remains uncertain due, in part, to the impacts of the 2017 Federal Tax Reform Act.

Contributors

Larisa Antonisse, Policy Analyst, Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured, Kaiser Family Foundation
Robin Rudowitz, Associate Director, Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured, Kaiser Family Foundation
Kathleen Gifford, Principal, Health Management Associates

Blog

Medicaid Managed Care Spending in 2017

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This week, our In Focus section reviews Medicaid spending data collected in the annual CMS-64 Medicaid expenditure report. After submitting a freedom of information act request to CMS, we have received a draft version of the CMS-64 report that is based on preliminary estimates of Medicaid spending by state for federal fiscal year (FFY) 2017.  The final version of the report will be completed by the end of 2018 and posted to the CMS website at that time.  Based on the preliminary estimates, Medicaid expenditures on medical services across all 50 states and 6 territories in FFY 2017 exceeded $571 billion, with over half of all spending now flowing through Medicaid managed care programs. In addition, total Medicaid spending on administrative services was $27.8 billion, bringing total program expenditures to just under $600 billion.

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Blog

Puerto Rico Releases Government Health Plan RFP

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This week’s In Focus section, written by HMA Principal Juan Montanez, reviews the request for proposals (RFP) issued by Puerto Rico earlier this month to deliver managed care services to the territory’s Government Health Plan (GHP) members. The government of Puerto Rico is seeking to contract with between three and six MCOs to provide services to the approximately 1.3 million members of the GHP, the territory’s medical assistance and insurance affordability program. Proposals in response to the recently issued RFP are due in early April.

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Blog

Washington Releases 2019/2020 Integrated Managed Care RFP

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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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Brief & Report

Preliminary Look at Key Healthcare Proposals in 32 States from Governors’ Proposed Budgets for SFY 2019

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The preliminary report presents key healthcare proposals from governors’ proposed state budget documents for state fiscal year (SFY) 2019, state-of-the-state speeches, news reports, and other budget-related documents, based on a review of these materials by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Management Associates. Proposed budgets reflect the priorities of the governor and are often blueprints for the legislature to consider, however, the level of detail presented in governors’ proposed budget documents varies significantly and in most cases does not capture all of the activity in a given state. As of the time of this publication, the table includes information from 32 governors’ proposed budgets and will be updated periodically as additional budgets are released and reviewed. The table captures proposals that fall into six categories:

  • Medicaid spending cuts
  • Medicaid enhancements
  • Medicaid work requirements
  • Other major Medicaid proposals
  • Opioid/behavioral health proposals (both within and outside of Medicaid)
  • Other major non-Medicaid healthcare proposals

Read more: http://kaiserf.am/2HkH8GK

Blog

CMS Renews Healthy Indiana Plan Through 2021

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HMA Medicaid Market Solutions helped the State of Indiana secure approval for an extension of its Medicaid Section 1115 Waiver, the Healthy Indiana Plan. Below is a summary of what the renewal entails. 

On February 1, 2018, Indiana received approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to continue its long-standing Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) with a three-year renewal. This CMS approval maintains the core of the HIP program and incorporates additional features, including expansion of the current Gateway to Work initiative to add required community engagement for non-exempt HIP members beginning in 2019. Also new is a substance use disorder component that will be available to all Indiana Medicaid members, including those enrolled in HIP.

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Blog

Texas Receives 1115 Waiver Renewal

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This week, our In Focus section reviews Texas’ 1115 Medicaid waiver renewal. After more than a year of negotiations, on December 21st the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) received CMS approval to extend the state’s 1115 waiver.[1] The Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement Program waiver was initially approved by CMS as a five-year demonstration waiver that began December 2011 and ended September 2016 and included $29 billion in funding.  The waiver authorized the expansion of Medicaid managed care while preserving federal hospital funding historically received as supplemental payments. The waiver created two new funding pools:  the Uncompensated Care (UC) payment pool and the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) pool.

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Blog

Kentucky Becomes First State to Enact Community Engagement & Employment Requirements for Medicaid Members

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This article was written by Senior Consultants Amanda Schipp and Lora Saunders of HMA Medicaid Market Solutions (HMA MMS). HMA MMS helped the Commonwealth of Kentucky secure a groundbreaking Medicaid Section 1115 Waiver. Below is a summary of what the waiver entails.

On January 12, 2018, Kentucky’s section 1115 Medicaid Demonstration Waiver was approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The demonstration includes two significant components: an expansion of substance use disorder (SUD) services, including a waiver of the Institution for Mental Disease (IMD) exclusion, and the creation of a new Medicaid program for able-bodied adults, known as Kentucky HEALTH (Helping to Engage and Achieve Long Term Health). The demonstration contains several groundbreaking policies never previously approved by CMS, most notably, a requirement for non-exempt Medicaid enrollees to work or participate in approved work-related activities, such as education, training, or volunteering as a condition of Medicaid eligibility. This approval paves the way for the nine other states that also have pending waivers requesting similar work requirements.[1]

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