Health Policy News – March 2019
Introduction With the first quarter of the new year coming to a close, we are taking this opportunity to do a national review of major state health policy activity in 2019. Nineteen new governors were sworn into office in January, and many of them assumed office with health care at the top of their agendas. ...
Newly-Elected Governors Set Their Sights on Healthcare Reforms
The new year brought changes to state leadership across the nation, with 19 governors newly entering the corner office—seven of whom took over from an administration on the other end of the political spectrum. This refresh has brought a surge of new ideas and energy in the realm of state health policy. Below, we highlight …
Health Policy News – February 2019
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 Exchange guidance, states await final guidance for 2020 related to the certification and oversight of ...
Health Policy News – January 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 ...
Health Policy News December Edition
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 2019. Before many of you take a break to spend time with family and friends, ...
2018 Retrospective & Looking Forward to 2019
This past year brought increased flexibility for states related to both public health care programs and commercial health plans, with the Federal administration announcing numerous policies to give states more control over the design / regulation of the coverage offered to consumers. We saw first-of-their-kind waivers approved at the Federal level, including community engagement / ...
Health Policy News November Edition
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 of a recent State Medicaid Director Letter regarding opportunities to increase access to behavioral health ...
CMS Issues Guidance on Medicaid Behavioral Health Delivery System Reform
On November 13, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a letter to State Medicaid directors outlining a wide range of opportunities for states to design innovative delivery systems for adults and children with serious mental health conditions. The CMS letter offers guidance on strategies to improve care for such individuals using ...
Health Policy News October Edition
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 short summaries of recent decisions on Section 1115 Waivers submitted by Massachusetts and Oklahoma, and ...
Health Policy News September Edition
With late-breaking summer developments at the federal level on Association Health Plans (AHPs) and Short Term Limited Duration Insurance (STLDI), and additional guidance rolling out at the state level, it was a busy end of summer for states and health policy SMEs alike. To assist states, this edition includes an overview of recent state activity ...