Medicaid

The House Energy & Commerce committee unanimously approved a bill Tuesday (Nov. 19) that would create new maternal health programs focused on quality measures, rural areas, and tackling racial and ethnic disparities.

CMS on Friday (Nov. 15) withdrew a proposed guidance letter on Medicaid block grants that had been under review at the White House budget office since June, but the agency on Monday (Nov. 18) reiterated recent comments from Administrator Seema Verma promising that it will soon issue guidance on new ways for states to finance Medicaid.

Ten Democratic lawmakers, including two Democratic presidential candidates, are calling on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to assess the potential of alternative payment models to lower rates of maternal mortality, but to be wary of models that might exacerbate health inequities.

Academics and beneficiary advocates are continuing to raise concerns with the Medicare Plan Finder tool as open enrollment continues -- namely that the updated website puts too much emphasis on the least expensive Medicare premium, rather than the smallest overall cost, and has missing or inaccurate cost information.

The House Ways & Means Committee's rural health and underserved area task force is asking stakeholders what issues should be considered as lawmakers draft bipartisan legislation -- in particular, the task force wants to pinpoint policies that have had a demonstrable, positive impact on health outcomes and workforce shortages in rural and underserved areas as well as the availability of long-term care.

CMS proposed a wide-ranging new rule Tuesday (Nov. 12) that the agency says will crack down on states manipulating Medicaid supplemental payments in order to obtain extra federal matching funds.

A second federal appeals court has sided with CMS and upheld a 2017 rule that prevents hospitals from receiving Medicaid DSH payments to cover costs for which they have already been compensated by Medicare or private insurers.

CMS announced Wednesday (Nov. 6) that it approved a waiver to allow District of Columbia to sidestep a restriction on using Medicaid dollars to fund inpatient treatment for substance use and mental illness.

Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act reduced preventable hospitalizations in states that opted into the expanded program in 2014, according to a new report published in Health Affairs.