White Papers

03.07.19

Health Plan Questions About Sharing Information During Opioid Crisis

People eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid experience co-occurring substance use disorders and chronic pain at rates that are two to six times higher than those for Medicare-only beneficiaries or Medicaid-only adults with disabilities, which puts them at higher risk for opioid misuse or ...




03.06.19

Medicaid Briefing Series: Priority Issues for State Policymakers

Medicaid is woven into the fabric of states’ healthcare systems and economies. Covering one in five Americans, the Medicaid program is the single-largest insurer in every state, and is the largest source of funding for mental health, substance use disorder, long-term care and emergency ...




02.28.19

Monitoring and Evaluating Medicaid Work and Community Engagement Requirements

Under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services is permitted to waive certain federal Medicaid requirements to allow a state to undertake an experimental, pilot or demonstration project that is “likely to assist in promoting the objectives of” ...




02.25.19

Telehealth: A Path to Virtual Integrated Care

How patients experience healthcare is shifting. Care that used to take place only in brick-and-mortar settings can now occur digitally.




02.21.19

Opioid Safety Toolkit for Health Plans

The United States is in the midst of the worst drug crisis in its history.




02.20.19

The Landscape of Federal and State Healthcare Buy-In Models

Across the country, policymakers, healthcare stakeholders and consumer advocates are motivated to expand affordable coverage, with the overarching goals of lowering the uninsured rate, addressing affordability and access-to-care issues (such as high premiums, deductibles and cost-sharing), and ...




02.06.19

Potential Enrollment Impacts of Michigan’s Medicaid Work Requirement

To date, Section 1115 waivers that condition Medicaid eligibility on beneficiaries’ meeting work and community engagement (CE) requirements have been approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for eight states: Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, ...




02.01.19

Alabama Medicaid Expansion: Summary of Estimated Costs and Savings

Alabama is currently one of only 14 states that have not expanded Medicaid, leaving more than $1 billion in federal money on the table each year that would boost economic activity and strengthen the ability of hospitals and other healthcare providers to serve residents throughout the state, and ...




01.31.19

Quantitative Evaluation of a Targeted Medicaid Buy-In for New Mexico

New Mexico, similar to a number of other states, is exploring a Medicaid buy-in product as part of a broader strategy to expand coverage and affordability of health insurance for residents. Medicaid buy-ins allow people above current Medicaid eligibility levels to pay a premium to receive ...




01.31.19

Ready for Reform: Behavioral Healthcare in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has long been a national leader in state-level healthcare reform.