Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
MACPAC Looks at Medicaid DSH
At a time when cuts in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments (Medicaid DSH) are still scheduled for the current fiscal year and some in Congress are calling for a new approach to allotting DSH funds among the states, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission has released its annual analysis of Medicaid DSH allotments to the states. The report includes: data about changes in the uninsured rate demographic information about the uninsured information about the cost of hospital uncompensated care perspectives on hospital Medicaid shortfalls a comparison of hospital [...]
MACPAC Meets
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met for two days last week in Washington, D.C. The following is MACPAC’s own summary of the sessions. The Commission devoted its Thursday morning discussion to integration of care for beneficiaries who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. Panelists Amber Christ, directing attorney at Justice in Aging; Griffin Myers, chief medical officer at Oak Street Health; and Michael Monson, senior vice president for Medicaid and complex care at Centene, presented beneficiary, provider, and health plan perspectives and a question and answer [...]
Medicaid Expansion Brings Improvements to Expansion States
States that expanded their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act have experienced fewer hospital admissions, shorter lengths of stays in the hospital, and lower hospital costs, according to a new Health Affairs study. Specifically, they experienced: a 3.1 percent decline in inpatient days a 3.5 percent decrease in discharges for conditions considered “ambulatory care-sensitive,” such as diabetes, chronic respiratory problems, and pneumonia a reduction of nearly three percent in hospital costs. Learn more about how Medicaid expansion has improved the health of the population in states that expanded their [...]
MACPAC Looks at Medicaid Substance Abuse Treatment
The treatment of substance abuse problems with medication within the Medicaid population is the subject of a new report by the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission. As required by the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act, which was enacted last year, MACPAC has prepared a report on how selected states administer and regulate the use of medications used to treat opioid and alcohol use disorders. Among its findings: The frequency with which providers are prescribing medication to treat opioid and [...]
Safety-Net Hospitals Gird for Loss of Medicaid DSH Money
Safety-net hospitals and others will lose a significant portion of their Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) payments on November 22 unless Congress delays implementation of the cut in those payments that was mandated by the Affordable Care Act. And hospitals that receive these payments are now preparing for the worst. The Medicaid DSH cut was included in the 2010 health care reform law in anticipation of a great reduction in the number of uninsured people leaving hospitals providing much less uncompensated care and therefore not in need of as much [...]