Category Archives: Health Network Alert

As announced on Thursday, August 22, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Massachusetts have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two for a demonstration to integrate care for dual eligibles. With the release of the MOU, Massachusetts is the first state to receive approval from the federal government to begin implementing a new system of integrated care for dual eligibles.

CMS has approved a California Medicaid state plan amendment which in effect will extend spousal asset and income allowances to LGBT spouses of Medicaid recipients receiving long-term care.

The National Senior Citizens Law Center and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare have released an analysis detailing the positive impact the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act will have on older Americans.

Can an assisted living facility be considered a “non-institutional” setting for purposes of Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) funding? CMS has proposed regulations to address this question, and comments on the regulation are due on Monday July 2, 2012.

Evaluations of the MFP program report halting progress. By the end of 2010, only 12,000 beneficiaries had transitioned to the community across the 30 participating states and the District of Columbia.

The intensity and pace of action around demonstration projects to integrate Medicare and Medicaid services continue to escalate.

A new toolkit for advocates related to long-term services and supports (LTSS)-specific beneficiary protections has been added to NSCLC’s Dual Eligible website.

Can an assisted living facility be considered a “non-institutional” setting for purposes of Medicaid and community-based services funding?

As it continues implementation of the Affordable Care Act, CMS has released final regulations for the Community First Choice option (CFC). CFC provides an incentive for state Medicaid programs to offer more extensive home and community-based services: specifically, CFC increases the federal Medicaid match by six percent for HCBS that meet CFC standards.

Maryland is the second state to receive federal approval under the Balancing Incentive Payments Program (BIPP) to shift state Medicaid spending towards community-based care.