Category: Federal Regulations
CMS Proposes Changes to the Regulations Governing Medicaid and CHIP Managed Care
On November 14, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed rule making changes to the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Managed Care regulations. CMS had notified states in March 2017 that it was doing a thorough review of Medicaid and CHIP Managed Care regulations, which were last overhauled ...
States Respond to Recent Federal Regulations
States across the country have spent the past few months reviewing and considering two significant rules promulgated at the Federal level over the summer: the final rule on Association Health Plans (AHPs) issued by the Department of Labor in June, and the final rule on Short Term Limited Duration Insurance (STLDI) issued by the Departments ...
Health Policy News Summer 2018
As in past years, Health Policy News is publishing one summer edition, featuring a new report entitled “Revisiting the Public Option- Medicaid Buy-Ins” with a legislative tracking overview of recent movement on public health insurance programs at both the State and Federal level. We will be hosting a webinar to present the report, with an ...
Association Health Plans: Final Rule Fact Sheet
Background: On June 19, 2018, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule on Association Health Plans (AHPs), which culminated a nine-month effort by the Federal administration to expand access to such plans. The Federal activity began on October 12, 2017 with the President’s signing of Executive Order 13813 “Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition ...
21st Century Cures Act
By Margot Jones, Jay Peck and Margot Thistle, with assistance from EVV Workgroup Implementing the 21st Century Cures Act On December 7, 2016 Congress passed the 21st Century Cures Act (the “Act”), which was signed into law on December 14, 2016. The Act is aimed at modernizing health care delivery, improving quality and targeted improvements ...
Section 1332 State Innovation Waiver – Recent developments and the newly-released checklist
In follow-up to its letter to Governors regarding the Section 1332 Waiver opportunity, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Treasury released a Section 1332 checklist on May 16 designed to help states pursue ACA State Innovation Waivers. Section 1332 of the ACA allows states to waive specific ACA provisions ...
Administrative Action
Immediately upon entering office, President Trump signed an Executive Order on January 20th entitled “Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal” stating his commitment to repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and directing administration officials to avail themselves of existing authority to provide flexibility in administration of the ACA. While ...
House passes 21st Century Cures bill
On November 30, 2016, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amended “21st Century Cures” bill by a 392-26 vote. The bill covers a diverse range of topics, such as: medical research, development of drugs and medical devices, interoperability of electronic health record systems, and mental health/substance use disorder (MH/SUD) programs. MH/SUD provisions in the ...
Innovative approaches to Medicaid expansion within the Medicaid managed care delivery system
Much attention has been paid to innovative approaches to coverage of the Medicaid expansion population that leverage the private commercial insurance market for coverage through “premium assistance” programs. However, other states have turned to the Medicaid managed care delivery system as the vehicle for implementing innovative coverage designs for the newly eligible population. As outlined ...
CMS announces the release of $22 Million in Health Insurance Enforcement and Consumer Protections grant funding
On June 15, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) announced the release of $22 million in grant funding for State planning and implementing of the health insurance market reform provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The grants are aimed at helping States ensure their laws, regulations and procedures are in line with ...