ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ (ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨) announced today creation of the ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ Institute on Addiction (IOA), a division dedicated to supporting the national effort to build an evidence-based, patient-centered, and sustainable addiction treatment ecosystem.
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Drivers and barriers to adopting flexible Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits
This week’s In Focus highlights a recent ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ publication examining the drivers and barriers to Medicare Advantage plan adoption of newly available supplemental benefits intended to address unmet health and social needs. Unlike Traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans, which provide coverage for 40 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries, may offer enrollees supplemental benefits which are not covered by the Medicare program. Until recently, the Medicare program has required that supplemental benefits be limited to those that are medical in nature. However, in recent years, Congress and CMS —through four different legislative and regulatory authorities — granted new flexibilities for Medicare Advantage plans to offer non-medical benefits that address social needs. Medicare Advantage plans may also now tailor supplemental benefits and make them available only to certain subpopulations based on chronic disease or health status.

States, Medicaid, and Economic Hard Times
ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ (ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨) and Wakely Consulting Group, Inc., collaborated to analyze, compile, and model data on Medicaid enrollment growth during the COVID-19 pandemic and develop projections under various recovery scenarios as well as analyze the potential impact of key variables on state Medicaid expenditures.
The analysis examined two key questions, how much strain will state Medicaid budgets be under over the next few years and what types of state characteristics and what types of policy options will allow states the ability address budgetary challenges.
ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ colleagues Eric Hammelman, Stephen Palmer, Matt Powers, and Kathy Gifford contributed to the report.

North Carolina releases RFA for behavioral health, IDD tailored plans
This week, our In Focus section reviews the statewide North Carolina request for applications (RFA) for Behavioral Health and Intellectual/Developmental Disability (BH IDD) Tailored Plans released by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) on November 13, 2020. BH IDD Tailored Plans are part of the statewide effort to transition to Medicaid managed care and are one of the four types of integrated Medicaid managed care plans the state will contract with to serve Medicaid and NC Health Choice beneficiaries. The other three are Standard Plans, the Statewide Specialized Foster Care Plan, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Option.

ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ colleagues author case studies on two-generation approach to addressing inequities in D.C. and Maryland
Focused on addressing inequities and building more sustainable and vital futures for low-income families in Washington, D.C., and the state of Maryland, colleagues from ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ (ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨) authored two case studies under the auspices of Ascend at the Aspen Institute, a hub for breakthrough ideas and collaborations that move children and their parents toward educational success and economic security.

A short-term solution to ACA uncertainty amid ongoing pandemic
In this week’s In Focus section, ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ (ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨) Managing Director MMS Matt Powers, Senior Consultant Kaitlyn Feiock, and Regional Vice President Kathleen Nolan look at the future of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). On November 10, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) heard oral arguments for California v. Texas, challenging the constitutionality and severability of the ACA. This challenge became possible after the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which zeroed out the individual mandate penalty for not purchasing health insurance. While most experts agree that an entire invalidation of the ACA is the least likely outcome based on the oral arguments, some uncertainty remains and more than $100 billion federal funds are at risk. The ACA standardized insurance rules offset premium costs for many individual market consumers and provided authority and funding for Medicaid Expansions in the overwhelming majority of states. The ACA also included other provisions that may be at risk but are not the subject of this note, such as the creation of Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) and the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office, as well as demonstration authority that has led to the creation of numerous coverage models. As states, Congress, and the federal executive branch face the possibility that the ACA may not survive in its present form, what mitigation strategies are available at the state and federal levels to stabilize uncertainties and protect against abrupt coverage changes?

Highlights from the 20th annual Kaiser/ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ 50-state Medicaid director survey
This week, our In Focus section shares highlights and key takeaways from the 20th annual Medicaid Budget Survey conducted by The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ (ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨). Survey results were released on October 14, 2020, in two new reports: State Medicaid Programs Respond to Meet COVID-19 Challenges: Results from a 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey for State Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021 and Medicaid Enrollment & Spending Growth: FY 2020 & 2021. The reports were prepared by Kathleen GiffÂord, Aimee Lashbrook, and Sarah Barth from ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ and by Elizabeth Hinton, Robin Rudowitz, Madeline Guth, and Lina Stolyar from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The survey was conducted in collaboration with the National Association of Medicaid Directors.

ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ Names Douglas Elwell CEO; Charles (Chuck) Milligan Joins Firm as COO
ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ (ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨) announced today that Chief Operating Officer Douglas (Doug) L. Elwell will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer, effective Nov. 1.

ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ to lead Integrated Care Technical Assistance Program in the District of Columbia
The District of Columbia’s Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) has engaged ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ (ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨) to spearhead a multi-year training and coaching effort across the District. The five-year project will support Medicaid providers’ efforts to deliver whole person care by integrating physical and behavioral health in order to better manage the complex needs of Medicaid beneficiaries.

ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ Acquires Health Policy Consulting Firm Burns & Associates
Today, Jay Rosen, founder and president of ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ (ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨), announced the firm’s acquisition of Burns & Associates, Inc., an Arizona-based health policy consulting firm that specializes in innovative approaches to the financing and delivery of health care and human services.

ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨, HealthEC Announce New Collaboration
Today, Jay Rosen, founder and president of ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ (ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨), and Arthur Kapoor, president and CEO of HealthEC, announced the two firms have engaged in an effort designed to accelerate improvements in healthcare service delivery and outcomes.

ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ announces cancellation of 2020 annual conference
ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ has made the decision to cancel its October 2020 conference on Trends in Publicly Sponsored Healthcare, given continuing developments concerning COVID-19 and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of attendees, speakers, and staff. Full refunds will be made to registered attendees and sponsors.