Medicaid

Policymakers could help drive down Affordable Care Act premiums by letting smaller, mission-driven Medicaid managed care insurers sell exchange plans to a limited number of enrollees at first and then expand as capital allows, says the lobby that represents safety net plans.

The health insurance industry says that with COVID-19 surging and unemployment still twice as high as before the pandemic, the 116th Congress must act quickly with timely, targeted and temporary relief solutions, which include strengthening Medicaid and helping people to keep and afford their private coverage in addition to providing more funding for testing and vaccine distribution.

The Federation of American Hospitals is urging President-elect Joe Biden and his transition team to institute a national COVID-19 mitigation and communications strategy as opposed to the current, splintered state-based approach; to gradually ease the end of COVID-19 waivers, rather than cutting them off at the end of the public health emergency; and to work with Congress to increase access to telehealth post-pandemic.

The Trump administration on Monday finalized a rule to roll back Obama-era Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Plans managed care regulations by, among other things, easing network adequacy requirements, which the agency said will reduce administrative burden.

Joe Biden’s presumptive presidential victory Saturday lays a path for revocation of President Donald Trump’s controversial Medicaid policies, yet a likely divided Congress makes it unlikely Biden will be able to realize his plan to build on the Affordable Care Act with a new public option.

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment Advisory Commission is leaning toward recommending a 12-month extension of Medicaid for postpartum beneficiaries, as opposed to the current statutory cut-off after 60 days, and aligning the coverage with the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

While the presidential race remained undeclared Tuesday night, Republican nominees swept in governors’ races where Medicaid is in the spotlight, which means a likely continued push towards controversial Medicaid policies such as work requirements.

A provision tucked into an interim final rule CMS unveiled Oct. 28 provides needed clarity to state Medicaid directors that they can terminate coverage for certain beneficiaries not validly enrolled in the program during the public health emergency and still receive enhanced federal matching funds, the National Association of Medicaid Directors told Inside Health Policy.

The presidential battle, Senate seat toss-ups, governors’ races and ballot initiatives have put Medicaid in the spotlight, with the results from Tuesday’s election potentially deciding the fate of controversial Medicaid policies advanced by the Trump administration and whether and how some states expand their programs.