Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission Archives - Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania

MACPAC Issues Recommendations to Congress

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission has submitted its annual report to Congress on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

The report includes recommendations for:

improving Medicaid’s responsiveness during economic downturns
addressing concerns about high rates of maternal morbidity and mortality;
reexamining Medicaid’s estate recovery policies
integrating care for people who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare
improving hospital payment policy for the nation’s safety-net hospitals

MACPAC is a non-partisan legislative branch agency that “provides policy and data analysis and makes recommendations to Congress, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the states on a wide array of issues affecting Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).” Its mandate calls for it to address matters such as Medicaid and CHIP payment, eligibility, enrollment and retention, coverage, access to care, quality of care, and the programs’ interaction with Medicare and the health care system generally.

Because Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals care for so many more Medicaid and CHIP participants than the typical community hospital, MACPAC’s deliberations are especially important to them.

Learn more about MACPAC’s recommendations in its Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP.

PA Safety Net Admin2021-03-23T06:00:52+00:00March 23rd, 2021|Federal Medicaid issues|Comments Off

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 October 2020 MACPAC meeting opened with a panel discussion on restarting Medicaid eligibility redeterminations when the public health emergency ends. It included Jennifer Wagner, director of Medicaid eligibility and enrollment at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; René Mollow, deputy director for health care benefits and eligibility at the California Department of Health Care Services; and Lee Guice, director of policy and operations at the Department for Medicaid Services, Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

After a break, Commissioners heard a panel discussion with Kevin Prindiville, executive director at Justice in Aging; Mark Miller, executive vice president of healthcare at Arnold Ventures; and Charlene Frizzera, senior advisor at Leavitt Partners, on creating a new program for dually eligible beneficiaries. Later, staff presented preliminary findings from a mandated report on non-emergency medical transportation. The day concluded with a report on nursing facility acuity adjustment methods.

On Friday, the day began with a session on access to mental health services for adults in Medicaid. It was followed by a related panel discussion on mental health services with Sandra Wilkniss, director of complex care policy and senior fellow at Families USA; Melisa Byrd, senior deputy director for the District of Columbia Department of Health Care Finance; and Dorn Schuffman, director of the CCBHC Demonstration Project at the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

Next, the Commission considered the merits of extending Medicaid coverage for pregnant women beyond 60 days postpartum. Staff then provided an update on a statutorily required analysis of disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments, as well as an analysis of addressing high-cost drugs and the challenges they present to Medicaid.

The meeting concluded with comment on the Secretary’s report to Congress on Reducing Barriers to Furnishing Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Services Using Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring for Pediatric Populations under Medicaid. The Commission decided to send a letter to Congress and the Secretary commenting on this report.

Supporting the discussion were the following briefing papers:

Because they serve so many Medicaid and CHIP patients – more than the typical hospital – MACPAC’s deliberations are especially important to Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals.

MACPAC is a non-partisan legislative branch agency that provides policy and data analysis and makes recommendations to Congress, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the states on a wide variety of issues affecting Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Find its web site here.

PA Safety Net Admin2020-11-17T15:00:47+00:00November 5th, 2020|Federal Medicaid issues, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals|Comments Off

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 February 2020 MACPAC meeting opened with a continuation of MACPAC’s examination of Medicaid’s role in maternal health, when Medicaid officials from Michigan, New Jersey, and North Carolina joined the Commission to discuss how their states are addressing maternal morbidity and mortality.^* The Commission plans to include a chapter on maternal health in its June 2020 report to Congress. Commissioners later turned their attention to policy options for improving enrollment in the Medicare Savings Program.

The Commission later took a deep dive into value-based payment in Medicaid managed care. This three-part session began with findings from a series of interviews with state officials, managed care organizations, and other stakeholders aimed at understanding how states use managed care to promote payment reform, conducted by MACPAC contractor Bailit Health. Then, representatives from three of these organizations shared their reactions to the findings and talked about how value-based payment models are working in practice.^* The session concluded with Commissioners’ perspectives on the study’s findings and the panelists’ reactions to them, and possible next steps.

The final session of the afternoon continued a line of inquiry begun at the October 2019 meeting: third-party liability coordination between Medicaid and TRICARE. MACPAC estimates that almost 1 million Medicaid enrollees have primary coverage through TRICARE, which provides health benefits for military personnel, military retirees, and their dependents. Commissioners explored making recommendations in the June report to improve coordination between the two programs.

On Friday, the Commission returned to the theme of improving care for dually eligible beneficiaries, looking more closely at the rise of so-called dual-eligible special needs plan (D-SNP) look-alikes and how changes in the Medicare Advantage market are affecting efforts to integrate care. Commissioners also reviewed a rule proposed in February that would, among other things, restrict the growth of look-alikes.

Following that session, the Commission discussed draft recommendations to improve integration of Medicare and Medicaid benefits for dually eligible beneficiaries. The February meeting wrapped up with a discussion of a forthcoming rule expected to affect the Medicaid eligibility determination process.

Supporting the discussion were the following briefing papers:

Because they serve so many Medicaid and CHIP patients – more than the typical hospital – MACPAC’s deliberations are especially important to Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals.

MACPAC is a non-partisan legislative branch agency that provides policy and data analysis and makes recommendations to Congress, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the states on a wide variety of issues affecting Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Find its web site here.

PA Safety Net Admin2020-03-06T06:00:04+00:00March 6th, 2020|Federal Medicaid issues, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals|Comments Off

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 uncompensated care costs when calculated using different methodologies
data about hospitals that provide “essential community services”
information about scheduled Medicaid DSH allotment reductions

All Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals receive Medicaid DSH payments and consider the program an essential tool for serving their communities.

MACPAC will issue a more complete report to Congress in March of 2020.

Learn more about how MACPAC views Medicaid DSH at a time when the program is scheduled to change – and when some want even more change – in the new MACPAC document “Required Analyses of Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) Allotments.”

PA Safety Net Admin2019-11-08T06:00:38+00:00November 8th, 2019|DSH hospitals, Federal Medicaid issues, Medicaid supplemental payments, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals|Comments Off

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 session followed.

After lunch, MACPAC staff briefed the Commission on challenges states face as they prepare for mandatory reporting of quality measures for children enrolled in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and behavioral health measures for adults enrolled in Medicaid. Immediately following that session, the Commission reviewed a new MACPAC-commissioned study on the effects of federal legislation that provided new buprenorphine prescribing authority for nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

After a brief break, MACPAC staff updated the Commission on the status of the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS). The final Thursday session discussed disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments as required in MACPAC’s annual March reports to Congress.

MACPAC’s Friday agenda opened with a session on improving Medicaid policies related to third-party liability: specifically, coordination of benefits with TRICARE, the health coverage program for active duty military and their dependents. There are close to 1 million Medicaid beneficiaries with TRICARE coverage but Medicaid’s ability to collect from TRICARE is limited. The final session of the October meeting addressed Medicaid and maternal health.

Supporting the discussion were the following briefing papers:

MACPAC is a non-partisan legislative branch agency that provides policy and data analysis and makes recommendations to Congress, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the states on a wide variety of issues affecting Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. MACPAC’s deliberations are especially important to Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals because those hospitals care for especially large numbers of Medicaid patients. Find MACPAC’s web site here.

PA Safety Net Admin2019-11-07T06:00:58+00:00November 7th, 2019|DSH hospitals, Federal Medicaid issues, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals|Comments Off

MACPAC Recommends Changes in Medicaid Shortfall Definition

Hospitals’ calculation of their Medicaid shortfall would change under a recommendation that MACPAC voted to make to Congress. That change, in turn, could affect hospitals’ future Medicaid disproportionate share payments.

Last week the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission voted overwhelmingly to change how hospitals calculate their Medicaid shortfall: the difference between what they spend caring for their Medicaid patients and what Medicaid pays them for that care. Under MACPAC’s proposal, hospitals would need to deduct from their shortfall total all third-party payments they receive for the care they provide to their Medicaid patients.

If this proposal were to be adopted, it has the potential of changing Medicaid DSH allocations among the states and change the distribution of Medicaid DSH funds within individual states, although the Congressional Budget Office estimates that it would have little impact on either measure.

Complicating the MACPAC recommendation is last year’s federal court ruling that third-party payments could not be deducted from hospitals’ Medicaid shortfall totals because the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services lacks the authority to implement such a policy. Making such a change therefore would require action by Congress.

Learn more about the MACPAC recommendation and its potential implications for hospitals and their Medicaid DSH payments in the Fierce Healthcare article “’Medicaid shortfall’ definition should change when tallying DSH payments, MACPAC says.”

PA Safety Net Admin2019-04-19T06:00:38+00:00April 19th, 2019|DSH hospitals, Federal Medicaid issues, Medicaid supplemental payments|Comments Off

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 wrapped up its work on the June 2019 Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP at the April meeting, with sessions reviewing four of the report’s five draft chapters on Thursday morning, and votes on potential recommendations later in the afternoon.

First on Thursday’s agenda was a draft June chapter on Medicaid prescription drug policy, which contained draft recommendations to provide states with a grace period to determine Medicaid drug coverage and raise the cap on rebates. The Commission then revisited hospital payment policy, with a draft chapter and recommendation on how to treat third-party payment in the definition of Medicaid shortfall when determining disproportionate share hospital payments. Next, commissioners considered two recommendations proposed as part of a June chapter on improving the effectiveness of Medicaid program integrity. The final morning session addressed the Commission’s proposed recommendation on therapeutic foster care.

The Commission returned from lunch for two presentations discussing preliminary findings of forthcoming congressionally mandated reports. The first afternoon session presented initial findings from a MACPAC review of state Medicaid utilization management policies related to medication-assisted treatment, to be issued in October. The session immediately following presented preliminary findings for a January 2020 study on Medicaid standards for institutions for mental diseases. Both reports are required as part of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (P.L. 115-271). Votes on June 2019 recommendations closed out the day.

Friday’s sessions opened with a review of the fifth draft chapter slated for June, on Medicaid in Puerto Rico. The second session of the morning reviewed a proposed rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in March to promote interoperability in federal health care programs. The April meeting closed with a review of evaluations of integrated care for dually eligible beneficiaries.

Supporting the discussion were the following presentations:

Because Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals serve so many Medicaid patients, MACPAC’s deliberations are especially relevant to them because its recommendations often find their way into future Medicaid and CHIP policies.

MACPAC is a non-partisan legislative branch agency that provides policy and data analysis and makes recommendations to Congress, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the states on a wide variety of issues affecting Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Find its web site here.

PA Safety Net Admin2019-04-17T06:00:32+00:00April 17th, 2019|Uncategorized|Comments Off

MACPAC Makes DSH, UPL Recommendations

Changes could come in Medicaid DSH and UPL payments if new MACPAC recommendations are adopted.

Last week the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission released its annual report to Congress, with most of the report focusing on its analysis and recommendations for policy updates involving Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments (Medicaid DSH) and Medicaid upper payment limit payments (UPL payments).

With Affordable Care Act-mandated cuts in Medicaid DSH payments scheduled to start in FY 2020 – this coming October – MACPAC recommended that these cuts be reduced and phased in over a longer period of time “…to give states and hospitals more time to respond to the cuts…”

MACPAC also recommended that Congress and the administration revise the current methodology for distributing Medicaid DSH money to the states to “…provide a stronger link between the distribution of those allotments and measures of hospital uncompensated care…”

The commission also addressed UPL payments, expressing concern about “…the discrepancy between reporting by states to show that they are complying with the UPL and the spending data they report to claim federal matching funds” and recommending “…instituting better data and process controls to ensure that state reporting on compliance with UPL lines up with those amounts they are claiming, and existing limits are enforced.

Medicaid DSH and UPL payments are especially important to SNAP and Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals because of the significant number of low-income, Medicaid-covered, and uninsured patients they serve.

Learn more from MACPAC’s news release summarizing its recommendations and the entire MACPAC annual report.

PA Safety Net Admin2019-03-20T06:00:41+00:00March 20th, 2019|DSH hospitals, Federal Medicaid issues, Medicaid supplemental payments, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off

“Medicaid Shortfall” Definition Changing?

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission last week discussed possible changes in how “Medicaid shortfall” is defined for the purpose of determining how much Medicaid disproportionate share money (Medicaid DSH) safety-net hospitals should receive.

The discussion came in the wake of a court decision last year that ruled that third-party payments toward Medicaid-covered services could not be included in hospitals’ Medicaid shortfall calculations.

MACPAC commissioners discussed several statutory changes that would seek to minimize the impact of the court ruling:

Include third-party payments in the definition of Medicaid shortfall.
Exclude from the Medicaid DSH definition of Medicaid shortfall all payments and costs for patients who have third-party coverage.
Explore new rules that address different types of third-party coverage.

MACPAC is an advisory body whose recommendations to Congress are not binding but its views are respected and often find their way into future public policy.

This subject is important to Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals because all of them receive Medicaid DSH payments.

Learn more about MACPAC’s deliberations on Medicaid shortfalls and Medicaid DSH from the Fierce Healthcare article “MACPAC considers recommending change to definition of ‘Medicaid shortfall’ at safety net hospitals.”

PA Safety Net Admin2019-03-13T06:00:58+00:00March 13th, 2019|DSH hospitals, Federal Medicaid issues, Medicaid supplemental payments, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals|Comments Off

MACPAC: Slow Medicaid DSH Cuts

Slow the pace of scheduled cuts in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments (Medicaid DSH), the non-partisan agency that advises Congress and the administration will tell Congress in its next report of policy recommendations.

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission voted 16-1 recently to recommend to Congress that Medicaid DSH cuts, mandated by the Affordable Care Act but delayed three times by Congress, be reduced in size and spread out over a longer period of time.

Currently, Medicaid DSH allotments to the states are scheduled to be reduced $4 billion in FY 2020 and then $8 billion a year in FY 2021 through FY 2025. MACPAC recommends that the cuts be reduced to $2 billion in FY 2020, $4 billion in FY 2021, $6 billion in FY 2022, and $8 billion a year from FY 2023 through FY 2029.

MACPAC commissioners also voted to urge Congress to restructure the manner in which Medicaid DSH allotments to the states are calculated based on the number of low-income individuals who reside in the states.

Most Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals receive Medicaid DSH payments and consider them a vital resource in helping to underwrite the uncompensated care they provide to uninsured patients.

MACPAC is a non-partisan legislative branch agency that provides policy and data analysis and makes recommendations to Congress, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the states on a wide array of issues affecting Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Learn more about MACPAC’s actions on Medicaid DSH in the Fierce Healthcare article “MACPAC calls for Congress to delay cuts to safety-net hospitals.”

PA Safety Net Admin2019-02-04T06:00:11+00:00February 4th, 2019|Affordable Care Act, DSH hospitals, Federal Medicaid issues, Medicaid supplemental payments, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals|Comments Off

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