Medicaid: What to Watch in 2022 January 18, 2022 Issue Brief As 2022 kicks off, a number of issues are at play that could affect coverage and financing under Medicaid. This issue brief examines key issues to watch in Medicaid in the year ahead.
A Federal Covid Testing Plan Finally Ramps Up. Strings Are Attached. January 14, 2022 Perspective In this commentary for Barron’s, Cynthia Cox and Lindsey Dawson examine the cost and availability of at-home COVID-19 tests and how the new Biden administration policy requiring private insurances to cover their costs may work.
Medicare’s Coverage Decision for the New Alzheimer’s Drug and Why It Matters January 14, 2022 Blog This policy watch discusses the implications of Medicare’s preliminary National Coverage Determination for the new Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm, on the 2022 Medicare Part B premium and the possibility of an adjustment based on the coverage decision. The piece also discusses the implications for Medicare spending and the connection to ongoing policy discussions around prescription drug proposals in the Build Back Better Act.
Assessing Online Availability of At-Home COVID-19 Tests Ahead of Private Insurance Reimbursement January 13, 2022 Issue Brief This data note explores findings from on an 8-day online search for at home COVID-19 tests at major retailers. The findings are described against the backdrop of the Biden Administration policy requiring plans to cover the cost of these tests. We find that these tests remain hard to find and that this limited availability could negatively affect the success of the reimbursement strategy.
State Policies Connecting Justice-Involved Populations to Medicaid Coverage and Care December 17, 2021 Issue Brief The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified pre-existing health disparities for justice-involved populations, with coronavirus infection rates among incarcerated populations higher than overall infection rates in nearly all states. Justice-involved individuals are disproportionately low-income and often have complex and/or chronic conditions, including behavioral health needs. Although the statutory inmate exclusion policy prohibits Medicaid from covering services provided during incarceration (except for inpatient services), states may take other steps to leverage Medicaid to improve continuity of care for justice-involved individuals.
New Analysis of Historical Rates of Medicaid Enrollment Churn Sheds Light on the Implications for the End of the Continuous Enrollment Requirement Tied to Pandemic Funding December 14, 2021 News Release For more than a year-and-a-half, the continuous enrollment requirement tied to enhanced Medicaid funding during the COVID-19 pandemic has all but halted enrollment “churn,” the temporary loss of coverage in which people disenroll from Medicaid and then re-enroll within a short period of time. Such disenrollments are expected to resume…
Medicaid Enrollment Churn and Implications for Continuous Coverage Policies December 14, 2021 Issue Brief Recent policy actions and proposals in Medicaid have renewed focus on the problem of churn, or temporary loss of coverage in which enrollees disenroll and then re-enroll within a short period of time. We find that 10% of full-benefit enrollees have a gap in coverage of less than a year, and rates are higher for children and adults compared to aged and people with disabilities. Churn has implications for access to care as well as administrative costs faced by states.
Build Back Better Would Change the Ways Low-Income People get Health Insurance December 14, 2021 Issue Brief The Build Back Better Act would make a number of changes to the way people get health insurance and how health care is financed, including by temporarily closing the Medicaid coverage gap.
Potential Costs and Impact of Health Provisions in the Build Back Better Act November 23, 2021 Issue Brief A summary of 10 of the major health coverage and financing provisions of the current Build Back Better Act, with discussion of the potential implications for people and the federal budget.
More Than 6 in 10 of the Remaining 27.4 Million Uninsured People in the U.S. are Eligible for Subsidized ACA Marketplace Coverage, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program November 19, 2021 News Release Recent policy attention has focused on efforts to reduce the number of uninsured people in the U.S. by expanding eligibility for coverage assistance, including enhanced premium subsidies in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace and filling the Medicaid “coverage gap.” A new KFF analysis shows that a majority of the…