Essential Health Benefits
FEATURED ARTICLE
Administration Proposes Significant Policy Changes for State Insurance Markets through New 1332 Waiver Guidance
/in Policy Blogs Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, Health System Costs, State Insurance Marketplaces /by NASHP StaffOn Oct. 22, 2018, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Treasury issued new guidance governing Section 1332 State Innovation Waivers, now called State Relief and Empowerment Waivers. Through increased state flexibility, the guidance supports the diffusion of association health plans and short-term, limited-duration plans, continue to stymie state efforts to use a 1332 […]
SUPPORT for Families and Communities Act: New Funding and Flexibility for States to Address Substance Use Disorder
/in Policy Blogs Behavioral/Mental Health and SUD, Care Coordination, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, Healthy Child Development, Infant Mortality, Integrated Care for Children, Integrated for Pregnant/Parenting Women, Maternal Health and Mortality, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Medicaid Managed Care, Medicaid Managed Care, Physical and Behavioral Health Integration, Population Health /by Kitty PuringtonLast week, Congress sent the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, a wide-ranging bill that seeks to address the country’s opioid crisis across a number of policy areas, to the President for his signature. The act contains numerous provisions that affect how state Medicaid agencies structure and administer services and supports for individuals with opioid […]
Health Coverage and Human Service Program Eligibility: Considerations for States Weighing Systems Integration
/in Policy Blogs Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, Health IT/Data, Health System Costs, Medicaid Expansion, State Insurance Marketplaces /by NASHP StaffShould states integrate their health insurance and human services eligibility and enrollment systems? Some state officials are weighing this question now that their revamped, Affordable Care Act (ACA) health coverage systems have been operational for several years and most of the early, initial glitches have been repaired. However, there are multiple factors to consider, some […]
Lower-Cost, Short-Term Insurance Plan Approved, But at What Cost to State Markets and Consumers?
/in Policy Blogs Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, Health System Costs, Medicaid Expansion, State Insurance Marketplaces /by NASHP StaffLast week, the federal government released its final rule expanding the availability of short-term health insurance plans, which are usually less costly and do not have to cover pre-existing conditions or certain health care services. Increased enrollment in short-term plans is expected to upend states’ individual insurance markets unless states take steps to offset their […]
Voters in Several States Will Decide Whether to Expand Medicaid this Fall
/in Policy Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, Medicaid Expansion, State Insurance Marketplaces /by Chris KukkaVoters in several states will decide whether to expand Medicaid – or preserve their expanded coverage — when they go to the polls this November. Medicaid expansion will be on Utah’s ballot, and is expected to be presented to Idaho and Nebraska voters this fall if enough signatures are collected. Montana’s Medicaid expansion is scheduled […]
Washington’s Medicaid Chief Examines the Future of Medicaid and Health Reforms
/in Policy Washington Blogs Care Coordination, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, Health System Costs, Medicaid Expansion, Medicaid Managed Care, Population Health, Quality and Measurement, State Insurance Marketplaces, Value-Based Purchasing /by NASHP WritersMaryAnne Lindeblad oversees Washington State’s Apple Health (Medicaid) program, which serves more than 1.8 million residents. She also chairs the National Academy for State Health Policy’s executive committee and is a National Association of Medicaid Directors board member. Lindeblad took time recently to talk to NASHP about the future of Medicaid and health care reform. […]
The New Association Health Plan Rule: What Are the Issues and Options for States
/in Policy Blogs Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, Medicaid Expansion, State Insurance Marketplaces /by NASHP StaffLast week, the Department of Labor released its final rule regulating association health plans (AHPs). The rule is part of the Trump Administration’s multi-pronged strategy to revise regulations governing AHPs, short-term insurance, and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) to promote health care competition and choice. The rule is expected to reshape state insurance markets and […]
Ministry, Association, and Short-Term Health Plans: What’s a State to Do?
/in Policy Blogs Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, Medicaid Expansion, State Insurance Marketplaces /by NASHP StaffThe Trump Administration is expanding the availability of alternatives to Affordable Care Act-compliant health insurance. Rules to expand association health plans and short-term limited duration health plans are imminent. So what’s a state to do to prepare consumers and insurance markets for these alternative plans? The Administration asserts these alternatives will provide choice and lower-cost […]
Ministry, Association, and Short-Term Health Insurance Plans – What’s a State to Do?
/in Policy Webinars Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, Medicaid Expansion, State Insurance Marketplaces /by NASHP WritersRead a blog by NASHP Executive Director Trish Riley about this webinar. View the webinar | Download the slides Will premiums in the individual market skyrocket next year? What effect will alternative forms of coverage, including expansion of association, ministry and short-term insurance health plans under the Administration’s proposals, as well as health ministry plans have on insurance markets, including price […]
New Insurance Rules Allow States to Revise Marketplace Coverage as Rate-Filing Deadlines Near
/in Policy Blogs Eligibility and Enrollment, Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, State Insurance Marketplaces /by NASHP WritersLast week, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released rules governing Affordable Care Act health plans in 2019 that give states the flexibility to revise what insurance plans are sold through their individual and small group marketplaces, and give consumers the option to buy “thinner” plans at lower prices. The long-awaited final […]
State Medicaid and CHIP Strategies to Protect Coverage during COVID-19
/in COVID-19 Charts, Featured News Home CHIP, CHIP, COVID-19, Eligibility and Enrollment, Eligibility and Enrollment, Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, Health Equity, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Population Health /by Gia Gould