In This Week’s Update

• SHVS Webinar: Potential Impact of Federal Changes on State Healthcare Programs
• Recommendations for States Developing Beneficiary Advisory Councils
• What Lies Ahead for Medicaid in Budget Reconciliation?
• Lessons Learned from State Efforts to Slow and Shift Healthcare Spending
• Centering Community Voices to Improve Disability Research
• State updates: CO, LA, MA, NC, NJ, NV, NY & PA

SHVS Webinar: Potential Impact of Federal Changes on State Healthcare Programs
On Wednesday, February 26, State Health and Value Strategies (SHVS) will host a webinar discussing the Medicaid and Marketplace reforms under consideration by the new administration and the 119th Congress, including adjustments to program financing, eligibility, and other policy requirements. Please be sure to register for the webinar (which is required) and feel free to share the registration information with other interested state colleagues.

 

Recommendations for States Developing Beneficiary Advisory Councils
Last week, SHVS published an issue brief that offers recommendations for states developing Beneficiary Advisory Councils (BAC), drawing on insights from people with Medicaid experience (PME) who have served on existing Medicaid committees as well as from nonprofit staff who supported PME in these roles. As a reminder, SHVS has also created a toolkit to support states in documenting and reporting on BAC activities as well as an issue brief that details strategies for compensating BAC members. Updates follow.

 

What Lies Ahead for Medicaid in Budget Reconciliation?
A new Health Affairs Forefront examines what lies ahead for Medicaid in budget reconciliation. Should Congress pursue a wide range of possible budget-cutting strategies, all Medicaid populations, from the youngest infants to the most vulnerable older adults, inevitably will feel the effects. What is clear is that what is driving the discussion right now is an aggressive quest for dollar offsets, not a vision of a stronger Medicaid program that ensures good, stable health insurance for the poorest Americans with the most significant healthcare needs, or a vision of a Medicaid program that continues to underpin the healthcare system’s extraordinary capability to respond to public health demands, the COVID-19 pandemic being only the most recent example.

 

Lessons Learned from State Efforts to Slow and Shift Healthcare Spending
State governments have created a pathway to improve healthcare affordability by setting targets (or benchmarks) for annual cost growth. Some of these states have concurrently set targets for primary care investment and the adoption of alternative payment models, reflecting the theory that these goals are mutually supportive and their parallel achievement can result in improved health outcomes. A report from the Milbank Memorial Fund describes the experiences of states that have designed and implemented policies to pursue these multiple targets and gathers lessons from their experiences to inform future policy development.

 

Centering Community Voices to Improve Disability Research
The Urban Institute is hosting a webinar that will highlight research released last year about the barriers people with disabilities experience when trying to access healthcare. The event will feature insights from Urban researchers and members of a community advisory board and will highlight lessons learned and share how stakeholders can benefit from supporting community advisory board partnerships. Register here for the webinar.

 

State updates: CO, LA, MA, NC, NJ, NV, NY & PA

• Colorado – The Department of Health Care Policy & Financing terminated its contract with MedRide LLC to provide Non-Emergency Medical Transportation services to Colorado’s Medicaid program members statewide. MedRide has consistently failed to meet numerous state and federal regulations, jeopardizing the health and safety of Health First Colorado members.
• Louisiana – The Louisiana Department of Health’s (LDH) Medicaid program is launching an emergency room utilization reduction pilot program. The pilot program extends medical services from LDH’s six Medicaid managed care organizations to patient residences via urgent mobile care provided by Acadian Health. The pilot program will provide mobile urgent treatment for an array of non-life-threatening medical conditions, including sickle cell disease and other chronic diseases.
• Massachusetts – The Division of Insurance developed a Q&A to help explain Massachusetts laws regarding insurance coverage for abortion and abortion-related care. The Q&A is intended for insurance companies, providers, pharmacists, and consumers to understand the reproductive access rights provided under state law.
• Nevada – The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services released its final Public Health Emergency Unwinding report reflecting collective data on Medicaid and CHIP enrollment, renewals, and disenrollment during the unwinding period. At the peak of the continuous coverage requirement, a total of 973,929 individuals were enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. As of December, 2024 a total of 822,034 individuals were enrolled.
• New Jersey
  • Governor Phil Murphy signed an executive order establishing an advisory council on HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and viral hepatitis to help bolster the state’s efforts to uplift public health. The advisory council will bring together government officials and members of the public with a mandate to tackle these pressing communicable disease threats to public health with specific attention to the disproportionate impact of HIV, STIs, and viral hepatitis on New Jersey’s Black, Hispanic, Latino, and LGBTQIA+ communities.
  • New Jersey Human Services announced $3.5 million in funding for non-profits and local county or municipal government agencies through the 2025 Inclusive Healthy Communities Grant Program (IHC) to help communities across New Jersey support the health and wellbeing of individuals with disabilities. The IHC Grant Program is an initiative to support communities and ensure that the voices and needs of people with disabilities are included in healthy community planning.
• New York
  • Governor Kathy Hochul announced $20.7 million to support SNUG Street Outreach programs that work to reduce gun violence and save lives in 14 communities across the state. These grants to community-based organizations and hospitals fund outreach workers, hospital responders, social workers, and case managers who work with individuals at risk of gun violence, connecting them with support and services to change behavior and increase opportunities.
  • NY State of Health, the state’s official health insurance Marketplace, published fact sheets which show the impact of the enhanced premium tax credit savings by New York Congressional District and the expected impact on New Yorkers if the enhancements are not extended by Congress in 2025.
• North Carolina – The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced more than $11 million in funding to community-based diversion programs and reentry services that strengthen support for people involved in the justice system. The funding will support the expansion of the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program and referrals to community-based services and supports, with an emphasis on regions or localities that have historically lacked the resources to operate these programs. Additionally, funds will ensure people involved in the justice system, including those reentering their communities, have access to housing, and supported employment services tailored to their needs.
• Pennsylvania – The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones, along with leadership from the departments of Human Services and Health, joined substance-use disorder (SUD) treatment providers, those with lived experience, local government, and judicial officials for a roundtable discussion to seek feedback on the development of the state’s Maternal Health Strategic Plan specific to the SUD-related care for pregnant and postpartum individuals.