Medicaid

HHS is looking for 15 stakeholders to join a department-wide quality summit to put together a Health Quality Roadmap as required by President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on price transparency.

Amid fears of large coverage losses, New Hampshire on Monday (July 8) postponed the enforcement of its Medicaid work requirements for three months as state data showed that most of the beneficiaries who are subject to the new requirements were not in compliance in the first month of the program.

A study published in Health Affairs Monday (July 1) found that an increasing number of working families are insuring their children through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the researchers behind the study called on policymakers to steer clear of additional hurdles for low- and moderate-income working families that could make it harder to sign children up for coverage.

Senate Finance Committee members are scheduled to meet next Tuesday (July 9) to discuss drug-pricing legislation that Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and ranking Democrat Ron Wyden (OR) have been negotiating, according to sources following the talks.

The White House Office of Management and Budget on Friday (June 28) began its review of a final Medicare and Medicaid burden reduction rule that also now includes updates to hospital and critical access hospital requirements that CMS delayed finalizing earlier in June.

The National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD) and a policy analyst said the best way to tackle social determinants of health for Medicaid beneficiaries is to fund community-based organizations that can work alongside state Medicaid agencies, but at least one health plan argued that state Medicaid agencies should tackle social determinants themselves.

Analysts say proposals from Democratic presidential candidates to tackle maternal mortality lack a comprehensive, interdisciplinary focus on reducing those rates, though they could help shape a discussion on the issue.

The White House Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday (June 26) finished a seven-month long review of a burden reduction rule aimed at nursing homes.

A bipartisan bill introduced Tuesday (June 25) by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) would create maternal and infant health quality measures for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as well as provide funding for regional partnerships between states, providers and other stakeholders to improve maternal care.