Introduction While 2019 started slowly under the Federal shutdown, its pace of action has significantly quickened. We bring you a range of health policy updates in this edition of Health Policy News. With the comment period closed for the annual ...
Introduction As in years past, the primary focus of the December edition is highlighting some of the important topics we wrote about in 2018, while also foreshadowing policy trends that we believe will be of particular importance to states in ...
This month’s edition of Health Policy News highlights recent developments related to the Medicaid program. At the Federal level, we provide a summary of the recently published Proposed Rule on Medicaid and CHIP Managed Care, as well as an overview ...
Introduction This month’s edition of Health Policy News focuses on recent developments relative to drug policy, which has been an ever-growing focus at the State and Federal level. We continue our coverage of efforts relative to drug cost control with ...
Last week, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) held its annual health policy conference (#AHIPPOLICY) in Washington DC, with top industry leaders, regulators and policy makers convened to provide diverse voices and perspectives on today’s most urgent health care issues. The conference themes were familiar and front of mind topics; tackling the opioid epidemic, rising prescription drug ...
As states and the federal government grapple with how best to address the issue of rising prescription drug costs, various models have emerged at the federal level that are similar to efforts underway at the State level. The Administration has called upon states to create innovative approaches to state Medicaid programs, particularly by examining value-based ...
Concern about out-of-pocket costs associated with air ambulance transport has been growing for some time. Groups such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) have advocated for state flexibility to regulate the billing practices of the industry. A small but meaningful step forward came last fall with the passage of a legislative requirement that ...
On February 7, 2019, the Health Policy News team hosted a webinar highlighting the proposed changes outlined in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) long-awaited annual Exchange guidance (proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2020 and the 2020 Draft Letter to Issuers in the Federally-facilitated Exchanges) released on January 17, 2019. ...
Introduction As readers are likely aware, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) long-awaited annual Exchange guidance was released on January 17, 2019, and, as in past years, PCG subject matter experts have prepared a summary of notable changes to assist states in parsing through this voluminous guidance. In addition to the summary, PCG ...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released first drafts of its long-awaited annual Exchange guidance on January 17, 2019 – the Proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2020 (NBPP) and the 2020 Draft Letter to Issuers in the Federally-facilitated Exchanges (Letter) as well as ancillary guidance (the draft Actuarial Calculator and ...
December marked five years since the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) consolidated eight prior OMB Circulars into a single source of federal guidance, and four years since that guidance went into effect. Yet, despite all the years, our Cost Allocation team still sees federal, state, and other agencies referencing the former OMB Circulars—such ...
Many states considering a Medicaid buy-in public option have expressed the hope that it will provide an affordable coverage option for individuals, noting that insurance remains highly costly even for those individuals receiving Federal premium subsidies or employer contributions. States across the country have or will be exploring the feasibility and options available to them ...
Implementation of the new Federal Association Health Plan (AHP) Rule—and new options for associations seeking to offer health insurance coverage—is well underway. The new rule became effective for all fully-insured AHPs seeking to operate under the new rule in September, and will go into effect for existing self-insured AHPs seeking to operate under the new ...
Massachusetts and New Hampshire held public meetings this past fall aimed at providing insights into the factors affecting health care costs in their respective states. The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC) held its sixth annual Cost Trend Hearing on October 16th and 17th. The New Hampshire Health Insurance Department (NHID) held its annual hearing at ...
