The National Council for Behavioral Health Conference, held April 23-25, will host more than 5,000 leaders in healthcare. Attendees will explore healthcare’s greatest innovations in practice improvement, financing, integrated health care, technology, policy and advocacy, and professional development. Four HMA behavioral health experts will be speaking at NatCon18.
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The Policy, Implementation and Operations of Medicaid Personal Responsibility Initiatives: An Introduction
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.
Medicaid Managed Care Spending in 2017
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.
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.
HMA Kicks off 2018 National Public Health Week with a Focus on Behavioral Health
National Public Health Week is April 2-8 with each business day dedicated to a leading public health issue. Monday, April 2 is focused on behavioral health, a topic historically left to human services agencies focused on treatment and intervention. HMA’s work in healthcare and delivery system reform is well known, but HMA is also engaged in public health projects and work focused on the intersection of public health and behavioral health.
Roles and Responsibilities in a Value Based Payment World
This week, our In Focus section, written by HMA Principal Denise Soffel, reviews New York’s Medicaid Redesign Team Structural Roadmap: Roles and Responsibilities in a Value Based Payment World, released by the state’s Department of Health on March 19, 2018.
New York is committed to the transformation of its health care delivery system. Its Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program envisions a significant shift to community-based care, a more integrated delivery system, and a shift to value-based payment. A new document, released in draft form for public comment, lays out an ambitious objective: “New York seeks to make health care a team sport. The State seeks to forever banish the traditional silos that made care navigation for patients difficult and in some cases impossible.” (p. 13)
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.
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.
Puerto Rico Releases Government Health Plan RFP
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.
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.
Section 1332 State Innovation Waivers
This week, our In Focus, written by HMA Principals Nora Leibowitz and Donna Laverdiere, reviews Section 1332 State Innovation Waivers.
What Are Section 1332 Waivers and How Can They Be Used?
Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act allows states to apply for State Innovation Waivers to pursue innovative ways of offering high-quality, affordable health coverage to state residents. This authority allows states to seek waivers of provisions related to these elements of the Affordable Care Act:
How Interagency, Cross-Sector Collaboration Can Improve Care for CSHCN: Lessons from Six State Initiatives
Families and care providers know that children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) are best served through a coordinated approach across the myriad programs, agencies, and levels of government that touch them. However, states face structural, operational, financial, regulatory, and cultural challenges to breaking down traditional silos to achieve interagency, cross-sector collaboration.