The flexibility and expansions that kept many households afloat during the pandemic will end when the federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) expires, perhaps as soon as July, causing a COVID Cliff. Families still fighting to gain stability will face the end of enhanced Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, the redetermination of the full Medicaid...
Tag: Medicaid
The Reentry Act: reducing spread and recidivism during COVID-19
Tucked away into the HEROES Act is a relatively underreported but critically important Medicaid provision which could help citizens returning to society after incarceration connect to critical medical supports. It can also alleviate the financial burden of Ohio’s local government spending on corrections-based medical care. The Reentry Act, found in section 30110 of the HEROES...
5 Ohio Medicaid Policy Issues to Consider Post-Election
I woke up a little bleary eyed on Wednesday, November 7th. I stayed up way too late on election night (and maybe had one Christmas Ale too many) trying to take in the results as they rolled in, forgetting I had an 8:30 a.m. meeting scheduled on Wednesday morning. Probably like many of you I...
Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee: Behavioral Health Redesign Beta Testing Part II
On November 16, the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee (JMOC) met to revisit the topic of beta testing Ohio’s Behavioral Health Redesign. This time, in addition to a presentation by Medicaid Director Barbara Sears and other Kasich administration staff, JMOC heard from the Ohio Association of Health Plans (OAHP), The Ohio Council of Behavioral Health &...
The New Rules of Waivers and State Plan Amendments
On Tuesday November 7th, the federal Department of Health and Human Services outlined its new criteria for reviewing states’ efforts to experiment with their Medicaid programs. In a press release sent out by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Director Seema Verma outlined her “vision” for the Medicaid program, which includes a new...
Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee: Medicaid Budgeting and the Behavioral Health Redesign
On September 21, the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee (JMOC) met to discuss the state budget process and the Behavioral Health Redesign and, on September 22, the state convened one of its regional forums on the redesign for providers. These two events can demonstrate how policy is discussed in the context of committee and the practical...
Senate Veto Overrides: Senate Veto Overrides: Implications for Ohio’s Medicaid Program
On Tuesday, August 22, the Senate voted to override six of Governor Kasich’s Medicaid-related vetoes. In July, the House had overridden 11 of the governor’s vetoes, 10 of which dealt with Medicaid, meaning that the Senate can still act on four of those Medicaid-related provisions pushed forward by the House. Several of the veto overrides...
JMOC Hears Testimony from ODM, ODMHAS, and Behavioral Health Providers as Redesign Implementation is Delayed
After over two years of preparing to carve new behavioral health benefits into Medicaid managed care plans and recode all Medicaid behavioral health services to align with national coding standards, the Ohio Departments of Medicaid (ODM) and Mental Health and Addiction Services (ODMHAS) had announced they were ready to go live with the Behavioral Health...
Managed Long-Term Services and Supports Second Workgroup Meeting: What’s to Come?
On Tuesday, May 30, 2017, the Department of Medicaid, with the assistance of the Department of Aging, convened a workgroup meeting for the implementation of the Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) program. The meeting was the second time the workgroup convened and was used to update stakeholders on the current endeavors in preparation of...