Recent Releases and Announcements
Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) Template for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated the CHIP State Plan template (DOCX, 198.4 KB) to facilitate state efforts in submission of a state plan amendment to document consistency with parity regulations published on March 30, 2016. The rule is designed to strengthen access to mental health and substance use services for people with Medicaid or CHIP coverage, aligning with protections already required of private health plans. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 generally requires that health insurance plans treat mental health and substance use disorder benefits comparable to medical and surgical benefits. The template is designed to help simplify the state plan amendment process for states to demonstrate that CHIP is consistent with these rules.
Updates for MHPAEA were made to sections 6 and 8. A SOTA webinar is scheduled on October 5th at 1:30 pm (EST) to provide states with a walk through of the template. We are available to provide individual technical assistance to states on this topic at any time. Please contact your CHIP Project Officer if you have any questions or would like to set up a technical assistance call.
Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program (IAP)
Comment Period: Medicaid IAP Quality Measures (Due October 5, 2017)
In fall 2015, CMS’s Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program (IAP) kicked off a three-year measurement development contract with Mathematica Policy Research, the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office, and the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services’ Disabled and Elderly Health Programs Group. The IAP portion of the contract entails the development or refinement of a small number of measures in key gap areas related to the IAP program areas.
IAP is seeking public comment on a quality measure concept currently under development. The measure concept is Self-Direction of Services and Supports among People Receiving LTSS through Managed Care Organizations.
- Anticipated comment period: Sept 14th, 2017- Oct 5th, 2017
- Submit comments to HCBSQualMeasures@mathematica-mpr.com
Learn more about these measures (visit the zip files in the Download section on this web page)
Medicaid Value-Based Payment Approaches and Key Design Considerations National Learning Webinar (October 5, 2017)
To assist Medicaid and CHIP agencies, CMS’s Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program (IAP) will host a state learning webinar on Thursday, October 5, 2017 from 3:00 – 4:00 PM ET on Medicaid value-based payment (VBP) approaches, including key considerations when selecting and designing a VBP approach. The webinar will:
- Review the goals of VBP strategies and the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network’s Alternative Payment Models Framework.
- Detail common Medicaid VBP approaches, such as pay for performance, bundled payments, shared savings/shared risk approaches, and global payments.
- Outline design elements and factors for consideration, such as measure selection, risk adjustment, and attribution, before implementing an approach.
- Describe features of and considerations for implementing VBP in Medicaid managed care programs.
This is the first webinar of a series of VBP-focused national learning webinars the Medicaid IAP is hosting in October/November. Subsequent webinars will build off the concepts shared during this first webinar, but you do not need to join the first one to participate in the others. Please save the date and be on the look-out for more information about the others:
- Medicaid Value-Based Payments for Children’s Oral Health - October 19th from 2:00-3:00 pm ET
- Medicaid Value-Based Payments for Substance Use Disorders - October 26th, 2:00-3:30 pm ET
- Medicaid Value-Based Payments for Maternal and Infant Health - November 2nd, 2:00-3:00 pm ET
Register Now: Improving the Quality of Medicaid Encounter Data National Learning Webinar (October 12, 2017)
To assist Medicaid and CHIP agencies with their data analytic needs, CMS’s Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program (IAP) will host a state learning webinar on Thursday, October 12th from 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM ET on improving the quality of Medicaid encounter data. In this interactive webinar, states will learn about approaches to improving their encounter data.
Presenters will share different perspectives on improving the quality of encounter data. A guest speaker from the state of Minnesota will discuss their Medicaid managed care structure data flow and their approaches to quality assurance, benchmarking, and timely data feedback. Additionally, a representative from the National Association of Health Data Organizations will discuss best practices in data collection, analytics, and output reports for encounter data, as well as the use of shared or public data to improve results.
Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program Releases Data Use Agreement Factsheet
The Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program’s (IAP), Improving Care for Medicaid Beneficiaries with Complex Care Needs and High Costs (BCN) program area released a Data Privacy, Data Use, and Data Use Agreements (DUAs) Factsheet (PDF, 91.67 KB) (PDF 91.67 KB). Data sharing is a critical component of many Medicaid payment and delivery system reform efforts, particularly for those targeting BCNs. Leveraging data from many different sources and across agencies can be complex and extremely challenging, often requiring the creation of inter-agency Data Use Agreements (DUAs). The brief highlights some of the challenges faced by states participating in the BCN program area, as well as several resources these states found useful in developing DUAs, including two state example DUAs. States embarking on inter-agency data use can leverage these tools as they pursue data sharing as part of their Medicaid delivery system reform efforts.
Upcoming Calls and Webinars
CMS Tobacco Cessation: Helping Smokers Quit: Using Data, Partnerships and Quality Improvement to Reduce Tobacco Use among Adults Covered by Medicaid
CMS is hosting a SOTA call/webinar to support Medicaid agencies and providers in their efforts to reduce smoking among Medicaid beneficiaries. Smoking is one of the major drivers of preventable illnesses and costs to the Medicaid program. During this webinar, representatives from two states (Kentucky and Oklahoma), the Association for Community Affiliated Plans, and CMS’ Tobacco Cessation Affinity Group will discuss what some states and managed care plans are doing to help Medicaid beneficiaries quit smoking. The webinar also will provide an overview of what Medicaid beneficiaries are saying about the assistance they receive and include an opportunity for dialogue about new strategies or “best practices” for improving access to services that can help smokers quit.
CMS recently released an analytic brief and infographic (PDF, 424.85 KB) (PDF 424.85 KB) on medical assistance with tobacco cessation. The data in the brief are drawn from the Nationwide Adult Medicaid Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (NAM CAHPS) survey conducted by CMCS in 2014-2015. Appendix C in the brief includes state-specific data for the 47 states participating in the survey.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017, 1:30 – 2:30 EDT
Audio option #1: 1-844-396-8222 Participant Code: 904 889 657
Audio option #2 and webinar