The federal government announced that the public health emergency (PHE) will end on May 11th. The PHE’s continuous Medicaid coverage requirement, however, will be decoupled from the PHE declaration starting on April 1st, meaning that’s when states can begin conducting Medicaid eligibility redeterminations. With these redeterminations on the horizon, health coverage providers like … Read more
Anthony Woods is the President and CEO of Amerigroup Washington. The public health emergency (PHE) was recently extended through Jan. 11, 2023, but health care providers have been preparing for its end for several months. Amerigroup will continue to do so, Woods said at our 2022 Inland Northwest State of Reform Health Policy Conference, as … Read more
Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) Deputy Executive Commissioner Wayne Salter testified to the earlier this month that the state’s shortage of professionals responsible for processing Medicaid and other public benefits has caused delays. He said the state had 400 staff vacancies that have led to failures to process half of the … Read more
In addition to a 6% increase in health insurance premium rates, Covered California announced last week that it has added a 13th health plan to the marketplace and expanded the coverage zones of 2 existing health plans for 2023. As reported in a news release, Aetna CVS Health will begin offering coverage in … Read more
In less than two weeks we’ll hold our Convening Panel meeting for the 2022 Oregon State of Reform Health Policy Conference. The meeting kicks off our agenda-setting process and gets the ball rolling on our preparation for the October 25th event! We can’t wait to see some of you there! If you have ideas on topics for our … Read more
On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a $308 billion state budget that includes funding for the expansion of Medi-Cal for undocumented residents aged 26-49, effective Jan. 1st, 2024. This expansion makes California the first state in the nation to offer health insurance to all undocumented residents. John Baackes, CEO of LA Care Health … Read more
Thank you so much to everyone who attended the 2022 Maryland State of Reform Health Policy Conference earlier this month! It was a day filled with great energy, insightful presentations, and engaging conversations. If you weren’t able to join us, we’ve put together a “What You Missed” video that will give you a sense of the sights … Read more
On April 28th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its final Affordable Care Act (ACA) rule adjustments for calendar year 2023. Among the changes is a requirement that plan sponsors participating in the federally run exchange–healthcare.gov–offer standardized plans in addition to their other products. An important aim of this policy, which is … Read more
A bill intended to protect the health insurance coverage of workers involved in a labor dispute and their families moved out of the Assembly Committee on Health this week. Assembly Bill 2530, sponsored by Asm. Jim Wood (D–Eureka), would require Covered California to administer a financial assistance program to help Californians obtain and … Read more
With 94% of Californians reporting having health insurance in 2020, the state reached a “milestone” for health insurance coverage last year. This finding was highlighted in a policy brief that used data from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR)’s annual California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), released Wednesday. The largest state health survey in … Read more