In This Week’s Update:

• Helping States Provide Healthcare Services for Incarcerated Youth
• State Toolkit To Aid Decisions on Continuous Enrollment
• The Medicaid Pathways Program is Seeking New Applicants
• ­Law and Policy Considerations for Workforce Protections from Extreme Heat
• CMS Oral Health Cross-Cutting Initiative
• State updates: CO, DE, ID, IL, MI, MT, NC, NE, NJ, NM, NY, RI, VA & WI

 

Helping States Provide Healthcare Services for Incarcerated Youth
Last week, CMS released a State Health Official (SHO) letter providing implementation guidance on the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which requires states provide specific services for children and youth eligible for Medicaid and CHIP and involved in the juvenile justice system. The SHO letter also offers states the option to provide full scope Medicaid and CHIP services to justice-involved eligible children and youth. The effective date for the provisions in the SHO letter is January 1, 2025. State Health and Value Strategies (SHVS) published an expert perspective that reviews the SHO letter in detail and highlights key considerations for states.

 

State Toolkit To Aid Decisions on Continuous Enrollment
Also last week, SHVS published a state toolkit intended to support decisionmaking in states interested in, actively pursuing, or implementing section 1115 demonstrations to provide continuous enrollment (CE) to Medicaid and CHIP populations, with a focus on multi-year CE for young children. The toolkit describes evidence supporting CE policies; considerations for specific populations; estimating multi-year CE costs; and demonstration evaluation and monitoring requirements. Updates follow.

The Medicaid Pathways Program is Seeking New Applicants
The Center for Health Care Strategies is seeking applicants for the 2025 class of the Medicaid Pathways Program (MPP). This nine-month professional development program, made possible by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, supports senior Medicaid leaders in strengthening the necessary leadership skills to successfully oversee a complex organization like Medicaid and advance initiatives that improve health and foster greater community engagement. The program is designed for a diverse cohort of senior leaders who are new to their Medicaid leadership role and/or interested in advancing to a more senior role in the future.

• Colorado
  • The Colorado Division of Insurance issued a bulletin stating that carriers offering plans in the individual and small group market are required to include coverage for abortion services for plans commencing in 2025 without requiring any cost sharing from enrollees. During the 2023 legislative session the Legislature passed Senate Bill 23-189, which established the requirement for carriers.
  • The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing executed its fifth pharmaceutical value-based contract. This latest contract is with Sanofi for Dupixent, an injectable biologic medication approved to treat multiple diseases. Clinical outcomes will be monitored by the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy, and if the clinical outcomes do not meet preselected targets, Sanofi agrees to reimburse part of the upfront cost.
• Delaware – The Delaware Division of Public Health is providing health equity training through the Health Equity Institute of Delaware (HEIDE). Led by the Office of the Medical Director and Office of the Chief Health Equity Officer, HEIDE helps providers and public health workers approach their work from a health equity perspective.
• Idaho – The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare published an updated behavioral health plan. The Idaho Behavioral Health Plan aims to help Medicaid members find and receive behavioral healthcare from local providers across the state.
• Illinois – Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation requiring insurers to cover mental healthcare for people following a miscarriage or stillbirth. The bill builds on existing law requiring such services to be covered through delivery and the postpartum period.
• Michigan – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) launched the “Mahogany Blue” campaign to raise awareness among Black women about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a medication that can prevent the transmission of HIV. Despite Black women being disproportionately affected by HIV in Michigan, their access to PrEP remains significantly lower than that of their White counterparts.
• Montana – Governor Greg Gianforte announced an investment of up to $6.5 million in one-time grants to Tribal nations and Urban Indian Health Organizations to support and improve behavioral health services provided in American Indian communities. The funding can be used to improve, repair, or expand existing behavioral health facilities, support mobile crisis response teams, and cover transportation expenses to facilities that serve individuals with behavioral health needs in a culturally relevant manner.
• Nebraska – The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) launched new features on the iServe Nebraska Portal, including a benefits dashboard and the ability to select a notification method for their correspondence and other messages from DHHS. Notification options include email, text messaging, USPS mail, or a combination of these methods.
• New Jersey
  • Governor Phil Murphy signed the Louisa Carman Medical Debt Relief Act, which will help New Jersey families avoid falling into medical debt and protect individuals from predatory medical debt collectors. The bill prohibits credit reporting of medical debt to consumer reporting agencies going forward and prohibits creditors from charging interest rates of more than 3%, among other protections. SHVS has updated our expert perspective tracking state efforts to prohibit medical debt reporting and state medical debt cancellation initiatives.
  • The departments of Human Services and Consumer Affairs announced the availability of $95 million in funding for the construction or renovation of affordable housing for individuals and families enrolled in Medicaid. The funding will be available through the Healthy Homes Initiative to create housing for Medicaid enrollees who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or living in an institution.
• New Mexico
  • CMS approved a five-year extension of New Mexico’s section 1115 demonstration, which has been renamed “New Mexico Turquoise Care.” Under the extension the state received new authority to provide: (1) health-related social needs services to eligible individuals, and (2) pre-release services for certain eligible incarcerated individuals for up to 90 days immediately prior to the individual’s expected date of release.
  • New Mexico will reinstate Medicaid coverage for approximately 21,000 children this month. Approximately 3,700 children in this group are between the ages zero to six and will now have continuous Medicaid enrollment up to the month they turn age six. Children ages 6 to 19 will be reinstated for a minimum of 12 months unless they have already turned 19 at reinstatement.
• New York – Governor Kathy Hochul announced five conditional awards totaling $15 million over five years to help community-based service providers develop innovative programs that will help reduce suicide risk among youth from underresourced communities. Administered by the Office of Mental Health, the funding through the Connecting Youth to Mental Health Supports program will help develop programs and suicide prevention strategies for minoritized populations, including those in rural areas.
• North Carolina – The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced an $11 million investment in treatment services designed to keep children who have complex behavioral health needs in homes and communities. The department is partnering with Rapid Resources for Families to expand access to family-based therapeutic programs, enabling children to receive trauma-informed treatment in a home-based setting.
• Rhode Island – Governor Dan McKee, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the Department of Human Services, and HealthSource RI highlighted key data and successes from the 14-month Medicaid unwinding. This includes an information sheet summarizing metrics on renewals, enrollment, continued coverage, outreach efforts and policy updates, as well as a “year in review” data dashboard.
• Virginia – Effective July 1, Virginia began prohibiting certain medical care facilities, certain healthcare professionals, and emergency medical services agencies from reporting any portion of a medical debt, defined in the bill, to a consumer reporting agency. The bill prohibits entities from reporting to a consumer reporting agency.
• Wisconsin – The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) launched the Maternal and Child Health Needs Survey to gather community feedback to help influence the priorities and focus of maternal and child health programs in the state. The survey is part of a comprehensive, statewide assessment the DHS Maternal and Child Health Program conducts every five years as part of federal Title V funding.