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Inside Health Policy (Subscription required)
The White House fiscal 2017 budget continues the administration's push for Medicaid expansion with an expected proposal to offer three years of full federal funding for newly eligible beneficiaries to states who have not yet expanded, addresses the substance abuse crisis, extends funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program through fiscal 2019, and includes an unexpected proposal to let states and the federal government jointly negotiate to lower the price of Medicaid drugs. Medicaid Health Plans of America President Jeff Myers likes the support states are getting for expansion.
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MHPA
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Bloomberg
President Barack Obama proposed $375 billion in spending cuts to U.S. health programs in his fiscal 2017 budget, including deep reductions to rates the U.S. pays drugmakers for their products, and changes to how doctors and hospitals care for patients.
The proposals are part of the $4.1 trillion budget that the Obama administration is proposing, which starts Oct. 1.
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The Hill
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said Wednesday that her department is considering issuing guidelines on an executive action known as "march-in rights" as a way to fight high drug prices. At a Ways and Means Committee hearing on Wednesday, Burwell was asked about a letter from more than 50 House Democrats last month urging HHS to issue guidelines on the administrative action.
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Enterprising healthcare. Cost containment solutions.
How can we help you? Contact us today.
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RunawayRx
Ever get the feeling you're being laughed at, and not with? That's how patients, payers and providers across the country feel about pharmaceutical companies that are increasing prices for our nation's drugs by more than 1,000 percent. RunawayRx shines a light on this alarming trend by releasing the first in a series of satirical illustrations. The cartoons depict the outrageousness of pharmaceutical companies' budget-busting
drugs, the black box nature of their pricing practices and the societal impacts of exorbitant price tags on life-saving drugs.
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Governing
Health care spending by state and local governments changed by the second smallest rate on record in 2014, a year in which millions of Americans gained health insurance through the Affordable Care Act's expansion of state Medicaid programs. State and local healthcare spending rose by just 1.8 percent to $515 billion, according to the latest data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a unit of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. By comparison, the country’s total health bill — public and private — increased by 5.3 percent, breaking a five-year string of historically slow national growth of 4 percent or less.
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New Hampshire Union Leader
The House made some significant changes to a bill that would extend Medicaid expansion for two more years. The House voted 207-136 to preliminarily approve House Bill 1696, which will have to return to the House for a final vote after the Finance Committee reviews the bill. The House voted down several amendments aimed at scuttling the bill before approving changes to require a person on the program be a state resident and participants would not open a person to a federal background check.
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The Associated Press via The Baltimore Sun
The newest attempt to expand healthcare coverage with Medicaid dollars reopened an old divide Wednesday before a Nebraska legislative committee. A coalition of doctors, hospitals, local governments and uninsured residents urged lawmakers to advance the bill. Conservative groups and members of Gov. Pete Ricketts' administration argued before the Health and Human Services Committee that the proposal is unsustainable.
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With an emphasis on innovative initiatives and data-driven solutions, DentaQuest is partnering with health plans to fundamentally change the way oral health is delivered in America. Integrating preventive oral health programs not only offers members a wider portfolio of choice - it is also a proven driver of cost control.
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KCUR-FM
Kansas House members were denied a vote on Medicaid expansion on procedural grounds in a floor debate Wednesday that mirrored one the Senate had a day earlier. Rep. Jim Ward, a Democrat from Wichita, tried to attach the amendment to enact expansion during the beginning of an hours-long debate on the state budget.
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Minnesota Public Radio
Sheriffs organizations in Minnesota and elsewhere criticized policies that allow those who are able to post bail maintain Medicaid coverage, while others who remain in custody lose it. Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek and Minnesota Sen. Al Franken urged the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to revise access to Medicaid for pretrial detainees who've been arrested but not tried or convicted.
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AL.com
Alabama has received permission from the federal government to test drive a different plan to provide health care through Medicaid to the one million mostly poor Alabamians who depend on it. Gov. Robert Bentley announced that the state has received a waiver from the feds that will allow Alabama to deliver Medicaid services differently. The waiver will allow the state to transition from a fee-for-service model to one closer to managed care through entities called regional care organizations, or RCOs.
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Omada Health
How are you helping your members with obesity-related conditions make lasting lifestyle change? In this webinar, you will learn about Omada's Prevent for Underserved Populations program and how Prevent is helping people reduce their risk for chronic disease by losing weight and keeping it off.
With input from Medicaid members, the program has been designed specifically for underserved populations and includes low literacy curriculum and content sensitive to economic insecurity, food access, and neighborhood safety. With Prevent's value-based pricing model, you only pay when members engage and lose weight. Prevent can help you engage members, increase satisfaction, improve population health outcomes and save your health plan money.
To register, click here.
MHPA
Thanks again to all who attended and who participated in this great recap of MHPA's annual conference. (download conference presentations here).
Next up: Save the date for mhpa2016 from Sept. 21-23!
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MHPA
Last year, the Medicaid Health Plans of America (MHPA) and the Institute for Medicaid Innovation (IMI) received nearly 100 submissions for consideration in the annual best practices compendium. An electronic version of the compendium is now available at the Institute for Medicaid Innovation (IMI)'s landing page.
This year, we have two opportunities, as outlined below, for you to submit best practices.
CHildhood Obesity Prevent & Treatment (CHOPT) for Medicaid
The Institute, in partnership with MHPA and ACAP, was awarded an RWJF grant specific to childhood obesity prevention and treatment that we have named CHOPT for Medicaid. As part of the project, we are conducting an environmental scan (questionnaire for health plans) and soliciting examples of best practices.
The following is the timeline for participating in this project.
Feb. 22: Questionnaire DUE
March 21: Best Practices Submission Form DUE (NOTE: Submissions from MHPA members are automatically sent for review and inclusion in the annual compendium.)
Oct. 28: Childhood Obesity Summit (D.C.)
2016-2017 Medicaid Managed Care Best Practices Compendium
The categories for this year's compendium remain the same; women's and maternal health, child health, behavioral health, long-term care and transitions of care and expansion population. However, the deadlines for submission are earlier due to MHPA's annual conference occurring in September, instead of November as last year.
The following is the timeline for this year's submission cycle.
March 1: Best Practices Submission Form Emailed to Plans
April 30: Best Practices Submission Form DUE
Sept. 21: Release of Compendium and Announcement of Awards at MHPA Conference (D.C.)
Women's Reproductive Health Project
The Institute is also leading a women's reproductive health project that is funded by the Kaiser Family Foundation. We will be administering a questionnaire developed by your colleagues at Medicaid health plans that will include an opportunity to briefly identify innovative and promising best practices, develop an issue brief, and host a policy briefing with Kaiser. We encourage your participation in the following ways:
April 12: Questionnaire Emailed to Plans
May 16: Questionnaire DUE
TBD: Kaiser and Institute Joint Policy Briefing (D.C.)
Please send your submissions and any questions to Jennifer Moore.
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