Tag: Medicaid Reform

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Biden Administration Announces $1.5 Billion Funding Opportunity for State Opioid Response Grant Program

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[MM Curator Summary]: SAMHSA will dole out the cash to states looking to increase access to MAT, prevention efforts, harm reduction and treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).

 
 

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

 
 

News Release

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

202-690-6343

media@hhs.gov

www.hhs.gov/news

Twitter @HHSGov

 

EMBARGOED UNTIL 11AM

Thursday, May 19, 2022

 
 

Biden Administration Announces $1.5 Billion Funding Opportunity for

State Opioid Response Grant Program

Funding for States and Territories Will Help Address the Nation’s Overdose Epidemic

  

 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is announcing a State Opioid Response (SOR) grant funding opportunity that will provide nearly $1.5 billion to states and territories to help address the Nation’s opioid addiction and overdose epidemic. In President Biden’s State of the Union, he named beating the opioids epidemic as a pillar of his Unity Agenda. Today’s announcement is a critical step forward in that work, and the SOR program, along with the Tribal Opioid Response grant funding opportunity announced recently, are critical tools in President Biden’s inaugural National Drug Control Strategy released last month and the Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Overdose Prevention Strategy.

 
 

The SOR grant program provides formula funding to states and territories for increasing access to FDA-approved medications for the treatment of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), and for supporting prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support services for OUD and other concurrent substance use disorders (SUD). The SOR program also supports care for stimulant misuse and use disorders, including for cocaine and methamphetamine. The SOR program helps reduce overdose deaths and close the gap in treatment needs across America by giving states and territories flexibility in funding evidence-based practices and supports across different settings to meet local community needs.

 
 

“The State Opioid Response grant program delivers crucial aid to states and territories to help address in the crisis of overdose and death in our nation’s communities,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “And, in line with HHS’ Overdose Prevention Strategy, this funding helps facilitate state- and territory-level efforts to ensure the full continuum of prevention, harm reduction, treatment and long-term recovery supports are in place and accessible to all who need them.” 

 
 

“At this time, less than 1 out of 10 people in the United States who need addiction care get it. That is why, President Biden released a National Drug Control Strategy to beat the overdose epidemic by going after its drivers: untreated addiction and drug trafficking,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). “Today we are delivering on key parts of our Strategy through this new funding, which will expand access to treatment for substance use disorder and prevent overdoses, while we also work to reduce the supply of illicit drugs in our communities and dismantle drug trafficking.”

 
 

“SAMHSA will continue supporting our nation’s states and territories as they confront the overdose crisis that has brought tragedy to so many American families and communities,” said HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., and the leader of SAMHSA. “The State Opioid Response grant program delivers funding and guidance needed for states and territories to increase efforts to provide accessible, lifesaving medications and services in the communities where people most need them.”

 
 

Today’s announcement is a critical step forward on President Biden’s Unity Agenda, which he outlined in his first State of the Union address to make progress on in areas where historically members of both parties can come together and deliver results for the American people, including beating the opioid epidemic, tackling the mental health crisis, ending cancer as we know it and supporting veterans.

 
 

The SOR program provides states and territories with the funding to develop systems and networks of care that save and improve lives of individuals, families, and communities devastated by the overdose crisis. Overdose deaths have accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, with data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that more than 105,000 people died from overdose in the 12 months ending in October 2021, the highest number ever recorded in a 12-month period. In addition to implementing service delivery models that enable the full spectrum of treatment and recovery support services as well as prevention, education, and harm reduction services, states and territories will be asked to develop naloxone distribution and saturation plans that will increase availably and accessibility of this lifesaving overdose-reversal medication.

 
 

The SOR grant will fund up to $1,439,500,000 to be awarded in fiscal year 2022 to 59 states and territories. This funding includes a set-aside for the states with the highest OUD-related mortality rates.

 
 

People searching for treatment for substance use issues can find options by visiting findtreatment.gov or by calling SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

 
 

Reporters with questions should send inquiries to media@samhsa.hhs.gov

 
 

https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/05/19/biden-administration-announces-15-billion-funding-opportunity-state-opioid-response-grant-program.html

 

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Machine Learning May Help Predict Opioid Overdoses in Medicaid Patients

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[MM Curator Summary]: A new study suggests that we can predict OD using 284 variables used in a new ML algo.

 
 

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

A new study shows that a machine-learning model using state Medicaid data may accurately predict opioid overdose in beneficiaries.

 
 

 
 

By Shania Kennedy

June 01, 2022 – Researchers have developed and validated a machine-learning (ML) model that can accurately predict opioid overdose risk in Medicaid beneficiaries in Pennsylvania and Arizona, indicating that the model may be valuable for making such predictions using beneficiary data from other states.

According to the study published in The Lancet Digital Health, the US opioid crisis continues to be a significant threat to public health, with an estimated 75,673 opioid overdose deaths in the 12 months ending in April 2021. Policymakers, health systems, and payers have implemented programs and policies to mitigate the crisis, but the shortcomings of current opioid risk prediction tools hamper progress.

The researchers note that despite these shortcomings, some progress is being made to develop more advanced models to improve t   identification of individuals at risk of opioid overdose. Their previous work found that machine-learning approaches can improve risk prediction and stratification for opioid use disorder and subsequent overdose in Medicare beneficiaries.

However, there is little available information about whether ML algorithms developed to predict opioid overdose risk using Medicaid data from earlier years in a single state can be used for predictions in other states’ populations in later years. The researchers aimed to develop a model to predict the three-month risk of opioid overdose using Pennsylvania Medicaid data and then externally validate the model on two other datasets.

To develop their model, the researchers gathered data from Pennsylvania Medicaid beneficiaries with one or more opioid prescriptions from 2013 to 2016. A total of 284 potential predictors were pulled from pharmaceutical and healthcare encounter claims found in these data. Predictors were measured in three-month periods, starting three months before the first opioid prescription and continuing until the study’s end. This information was then used to predict the risk of hospital or emergency department (ED) visits for overdose in the subsequent three months.

 The researchers externally validated their model using data with the same parameters from Pennsylvania between 2017 and 2018 and Arizona between 2015 and 2017.

Overall, the model achieved high performance with all three datasets. A total of 1.35 percent of 2013-2016 Pennsylvania Medicaid beneficiaries, 0.85 percent of 2017-2018 Pennsylvania Medicaid beneficiaries, and 0.61 percent of 2015-2017 Arizona beneficiaries had at least one overdose during the study period.

In external validation datasets, 22.4 percent of 2017-2018 Pennsylvania beneficiaries and 10 percent of 2015-2017 Arizona beneficiaries were in high-risk subgroups for opioid overdose. Lower risk subgroups in both external validation datasets showed 0.2 percent of beneficiaries or fewer with overdose risk.

These findings indicate that an ML model trained on 2013-2016 Pennsylvania Medicaid data successfully predicted opioid overdose in data from the same state in different years and a different state in different years. This may indicate that the model could be valuable for opioid overdose risk prediction and stratification in Medicare beneficiaries across states and time periods, according to the researchers.

Other risk models have also been recently developed to address opioid misuse and overdose.

In a study published by the University of Michigan earlier this year, researchers found that their risk prediction model helped identify and address potential misuse of opioids.

The model was developed using data from the Michigan Genomics Initiative and consisted of three different versions. The researchers found that all three versions performed better at predicting continued opioid use than existing models and were more successful at predicting opioid use among preoperative opioid users than inexperienced users.

Clipped from: https://healthitanalytics.com/news/machine-learning-may-help-predict-opioid-overdoses-in-medicaid-patients

 
 

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Pro-unionization language dropped from Pennsylvania multi-billion dollar Medicaid contracts

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[MM Curator Summary]: After a lot of negative press (including from us) on the plan to force hospitals to unionize or be blocked from Medicaid participation, union bosses figured out a way to back out, save face and give officials talking points about “misinformation.”

 
 

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

 
 

 
 

Rogelio V. Solis / AP Photo

(The Center Square) – After a months-long controversy over unionization language in Medicaid contracts that sparked a lawsuit, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services has removed the provision in question, citing concerns about “misinformation” and “confusion.”

Since March, DHS has been criticized by Republican state legislators and hospital groups over its proposed HealthChoices Medicaid Managed Care agreements, as The Center Square has previously reported. Past contracts have been worth $65 billion over five years and cover health-care expenses for 2.8 million Pennsylvanians.

The drama over the new contracts came from language that would prohibit network providers who had work stoppages in the previous five years from being included in Medicaid networks – unless they had signed a collective bargaining agreement. 

The language prompted the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania to file a lawsuit against DHS in early May, alleging that DHS overstepped its authority and didn’t follow proper procedure for adding the unionization language.

On May 26, DHS confirmed that the work stoppage provision would be dropped from the Medicaid contracts.

“Throughout this process the Wolf administration and the department’s focus has been on ensuring appropriate and uninterrupted access to care for the individuals we serve; and our focus will continue to be on ensuring access,” DHS Communications Director Ali Fogarty said. “However, it has come to a point where misinformation has begun to impact consumers. … As a result, we have decided that now, in the midst of plan changes and with a significant number of consumers having to select a new plan, that moving forward with the work stoppage provision could lead to additional confusion and concern among a vulnerable population.”

Fogarty emphasized that health care access was about more than travel time to a hospital.

“(Access to care) is also about whether individuals being served have access to adequate numbers of professionals that can provide high quality care, as well as support staff that provide other essential services,” Fogarty said. “It’s not just about strikes and work stoppages causing access issues. It’s about burnout and apathy that also pose an access barrier to safe, high quality care.”

The hospital association welcomed the news of the language change.

“HAP thanks Governor Wolf and leaders in the Department of Human Services for working to make improvements to the commonwealth’s Medicaid managed care program that will enhance access to health care,” HAP President and CEO Andy Carter said. “We appreciate the administration working with the hospital community to prioritize Pennsylvanians’ ability to receive high-quality care in their communities.”

State Republicans were happy to hear of “a disastrous endeavor” being avoided, as Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York, put it.

“I am thankful that this effort by the administration has been abandoned because it really would have been a significant impediment for people in other parts of the commonwealth that are outside the (major metropolitan areas),” Phillips-Hill said.

She was hopeful “that this issue is put to rest once and for all, and that we can all focus on solutions that improve health care outcomes – not something that’s going to create added costs and impact people’s access to quality health care in our state.”

The agreements remain on track to take effect on Sept. 1, according to DHS.

 
 

Clipped from: https://www.bradfordera.com/news/state/pro-unionization-language-dropped-from-pennsylvania-multi-billion-dollar-medicaid-contracts/article_eaee751e-ead9-58f8-8613-693ecf748f49.html

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CMS Approves Extension of Medicaid and CHIP Coverage for 12 Months Postpartum in Tennessee and South Carolina

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[MM Curator Summary]: 7 states now have taken advantage of the ARPA funding for extending maternity coverage; 9 more are working on it.

 
 

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

 
 

On May 6, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved state plan amendments submitted by Tennessee and South Carolina through which those states will now provide 12 months of continuous postpartum Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage. Section 9822 of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 added section 2107(e)(1)(J) to the Social Security Act, which requires states to provide continuous eligibility throughout an individual’s pregnancy and 12-month postpartum period in CHIP if the state has elected this option in Medicaid.

To date, Louisiana, Michigan, Virginia, New Jersey, and Illinois, in addition to Tennessee and South Carolina, have worked with CMS to extend Medicaid and CHIP coverage to 12 months postpartum pursuant to Section 9822 of the ARP. Nine other states and the District of Columbia are also in the process of extending postpartum coverage to 12 months, which may result in as many as 720,000 pregnant and postpartum individuals receiving guaranteed Medicaid and CHIP coverage. This is part of a national effort to address pregnancy-related mortality and morbidity.

The expansion is addressed on CMS’s website here.

Clipped from: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/cms-approves-extension-of-medicaid-and-8385077/

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Republicans file bill to expand Medicaid in N.C.

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[MM Curator Summary]: This is new.

 
 

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

 
 

 
 

Republicans in the North Carolina Senate have reversed course on Medicaid expansion, moving Wednesday to expand health care coverage to hundreds of thousands more people.

The GOP in the General Assembly have opposed expanding Medicaid in North Carolina since it became possible during the Obama administration with the Affordable Care Act.

“We must do something to improve health care, especially expand access and lower costs,” Senate Pro Tem Phil Berger said Wednesday. “We need coverage in North Carolina for the working poor.”

The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, gave federal funding for states that chose to expand Medicaid coverage for more people.

The law faced numerous legislative and legal challenges, but most provisions in the law have survived in the dozen years since it was enacted.

Berger said he has been one of the most vocal opponents of Medicaid expansion in North Carolina over the past decade. But things have changed.

“Medicaid expansion has evolved to a point where it is now good fiscal policy,” he said in a news conference Wednesday, flanked by Republican colleagues at the General Assembly.

The Medicaid expansion proposal comes as an amendment to what originally was a bill to expand telehealth services.

The draft does a lot more than expand who is eligible for Medicaid. It includes a work requirement. It reforms the state’s “certificate of need” statutes, which essentially dictate what hospitals can build and where. It also allows nurses with advanced training to prescribe medications and creates requirements for telehealth.

Who would be covered?

The Medicaid expansion bill would extend health care to hundreds of thousands of people in North Carolina, Republican leaders in the North Carolina Senate said.

The bill would give coverage to any adults 18 to 64 who make up to 138% of the federal poverty level. That would be $18,754 for a single adult and $38,295 for a family of four.

 
 

Is the work requirement allowed?

North Carolina’s Medicaid expansion proposal has a work requirement for recipients, with some exceptions for people with disabilities or caring for young children. But there’s still a question on whether states are allowed to build a work requirement into getting on Medicaid.

Eight states have added work requirements to Medicaid since the Trump administration began allowing the practice, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which tracks health care policy. Courts have blocked work requirements so far, but there is a case before the United States Supreme Court that could potentially settle the issue.

“The bill as drafted has a work requirement, that is what we would like to see,” Berger said. “We will worry about getting the bill passed, then we will deal with whether or not that’s something we can convince the Biden administration or convince the courts that’s the right thing to do.”

If the work requirement piece ends up in the courts or is denied, people would still be eligible to get health care coverage under the Medicaid expansion bill, Berger said.

 
 

What’s the ‘Certificate of Need’ all about?

In North Carolina, hospitals and other health care providers have to get a Certificate of Need from the state Department of Health and Human Services if they want to add new equipment or build new facilities.

A health care provider needs state approval if they want to add anything from getting a new MRI machine to building a new drug treatment center.

The Certificate of Need process has long been a target of Republicans, who say it increases health care costs for consumers and reduces access to care.

The proposal creates two pathways for new health care projects. Things like air ambulances, emergency rooms, adult care homes and nursing home facilities would still need a Certificate of Need.

For other big expansions or adding services, health care providers would no longer have to show it would not duplicate existing services.

Under the current law, Berger said, “DHHS conducts some sort of a market analysis as to what is needed in the market. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had a whole lot of confidence in government regulators having an idea how to accurately assess what the private marketplace needs.”

The bill would completely eliminate the DHHS certificate process for converting acute care beds to psychological care beds, drug treatment centers, MRI machines and ambulatory surgical centers, Berger said.

 
 

Changes for nurses

The bill includes provisions to license “advanced practice registered nurses” that could diagnose and treat more patients and prescribe medications. The aim is to increase access to health care in more rural areas.

Sen. Joyce Krawiec said the provision for advanced nurses is one of the changes she’s most excited to see.

“It allows the advanced practice nurses to practice at the top of their licensure, at the top of their training, and that will improve access, we hope, in a lot of rural areas,” she said.

 
 

Can it actually pass the General Assembly?

The politics of expanding Medicaid in North Carolina has been divisive in the General Assembly. Republicans have long been united against expanding health care coverage under the federal program.

Just because the leadership in the Senate supports expanding Medicaid, that doesn’t necessarily mean the House Republicans will join in to pass it. Republican House Speaker Tim Moore has not commented on whether he’d support this new proposal.

Berger said he wants to see the bill pass through the Senate and sent to the House.

“I’ve talked to the speaker and we will just see what happens,” Berger said. “What we want to do is send this over to them and we will see what they want to do with it.”

The GOP leader in the Senate said he plans to work with the Republicans who control the House to come up with a bill that they can agree on and take to the governor.

Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, has argued for years for the state to expand Medicaid. But first it has to get through the Republican-controlled legislature.

“If there’s a person in the State of North Carolina who has spoken out against Medicaid expansion more than I have, I’d like to meet that person,” Berger said. “In fact, I’d like to talk to that person about why my view on this has changed, because I think this is the right thing for us to do.

The bill will have to pass both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly and then get the governor’s signature before it becomes law.

 
 

Clipped from: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/politics/2022/05/25/five-things-to-know–republicans-file-medicaid-expansion-bill-for-north-carolina

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Biden set to extend federal COVID-19 emergency: What it means for Ohio

[MM Curator Summary]: Biden will likely extend the PHE again to give Dems cover for upcoming at-risk elections.

 
 

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

 
 

President Joe Biden’s administration is set to extend the COVID-19 health emergency declaration beyond July 15, which is when it is currently set to expire.

The extension from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services means that hundreds of thousands of Ohioans at risk of losing health coverage and other benefits will continue to keep them for now.

Earlier in the year, many had anticipated that the pubic health emergency would no longer be extended as the nation settled down from the omicron wave and COVID-19 restrictions were loosened.

The likely extension, reported by Bloomberg, may not be the last 90-day extension and could continue, depending on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and the political climate. Cases are significantly lower than they were this past winter, but are on the rise again.

Ending the public health emergency is more than just saying the U.S. has moved on from the COVID-19 pandemic. Its declaration allows for special provisions to help Ohioans affected by the virus and has very real-life consequences.

Ohio impact

With the extension, any vaccines or COVID-19 treatments under emergency use authorization can continue to be used. That currently includes vaccines for children between 5 and 15 years old. As of May 12, only 30% of Ohioans ages 19 and younger had been vaccinated, per state data.

The extension also continues to allow for health coverage flexibilities around COVID-19 tests, treatment and the use of telehealth. 

At least 400,000 Ohioans relying on Medicaid — government-paid health insurance for low-income or disabled people — could have lost coverage had the Public Health Emergency not been extended.

Instead, that process will play out later, and it’s one that can be very messy and difficult in determining who is not eligible and lose benefits. Mistakes could happen, where people who are still eligible (or still low-income) might accidentally be removed. 

That will pose headaches for the Ohio Department of Medicaid, which is trying to launch its revamped system on time. It recently pushed most of the launch back to avoid conflicting with the eligibility checks, but it now may need to readjust the timeline again.

The public health emergency prevented those on Medicaid from being disenrolled because Ohio saw a big boost in federal money to help cover them. The state received around $300 million every three months in federal money. That boost will go away when the declaration ends.

The declaration continuing also means temporary food stamp increases will remain in place at a time when inflation is affecting Ohioans. 

Titus Wu is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

Clipped from: https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/politics/government/2022/05/17/biden-extends-federal-covid-19-emergency-what-means-ohio-medicaid-food-stamps-snap-ohio-reforms/9768602002/

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Medicaid Regains Power to Deduct From Home Health Workers’ Pay

[MM Curator Summary]: It took them 5 years, but SEIU successfully got $20M in Medicaid-funded union dues restored.

 
 

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

State Medicaid programs will regain the authority they lost in the Trump era to withhold union dues and deductions for benefits from home health workers’ payments.

The Biden administration final rule (RIN 0938–AU73), published Thursday, is the latest move in a back-and-forth disagreement between Democratic and Republican administrations over how Medicaid programs should interact with home health workers and their unions.

At issue is how to interpret a provision of the Medicaid statute prohibiting payments to anyone other than the person or institution who provided a covered service. The new rule includes amended language specifying that payments to third parties for benefits such as health insurance and training aren’t excluded by the statutory prohibition.

The Obama administration said in a 2014 rule allowing payments to unions that the prohibition was intended to prevent “factoring arrangements,” in which providers sold reimbursement claims for a percentage of their value to companies that would then submit the claims to the state.

The goal of the prohibition wasn’t to prevent Medicaid programs from carrying out basic employer-like responsibilities such as withholding payments for benefits and training, the Obama-era rule said.

The Trump administration reversed course in a 2019 rule that interpreted the prohibition to exclude such payments.

The change will help strengthen and stabilize the home health workforce by supporting training and improving benefits, the Biden administration rule said.

Medicaid has become increasingly reliant on the home health workforce in recent years as federal health-care policy has shifted to encourage care in the home and community rather than in institutions. Over 50% of Medicaid spending on long-term care now takes place in the home and communities, up from less than 10% in the 1980s.

“Deductions for these purposes are an efficient and effective method for ensuring that the workforce has provisions for basic needs and is adequately trained for their functions, thus ensuring that beneficiaries have greater access to such practitioners and higher quality services,” the rule said.

Workers covered by the rule are those for whom Medicaid is the primary source of revenue. Worker consent to deductions will be required.

Around 3.4 million people are employed as home health workers and personal care aides in the US, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At least 800,000 of them are currently union members, according to the Service Employees International Union.

 
 

Clipped from: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-and-business/medicaid-regains-power-to-deduct-from-home-health-workers-pay

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Social Security, SNAP, Medicaid and WIC Beneficiaries Could Receive $30 or More Off Internet Access

[MM Curator Summary]: The EBB program will become the ACP program and provide subsidized internet to more people.

 
 

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

Retirement / Social Security

 
 

Sladic / iStock.com

If you are qualified based on your income, you might be able to get $30 off your internet service thanks to a program introduced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) called the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

First introduced on Dec. 31, 2021, after the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBBP) helped nearly 9 million households pay for internet access during the pandemic, the ACP provides a discount on internet access beginning March 1, 2022.

What’s the Difference Between the ACP and EBBP?

Under the EBBP, those who qualified received a maximum monthly benefit of $50 to go toward internet access, while those living on tribal lands received $75. The $75 discount for those living on tribal lands remains, but any other qualified participants now receive a $30 credit.

To qualify for the ACP, participants must show a household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, rather than 135% for the EBBP. The benefit is smaller, but available to more households. In Feb. 2022, more than 10 million households enrolled in ACP, Fox2Now reported.

Steps to Take If You Were Already Receiving EBBP

Those who were receiving EBBP through Dec. 31 of last year shouldn’t have to do anything to continue receiving the benefit if their household qualifies under the new guidelines. If additional steps were needed, GOBankingRates reported, a program administrator would have reached out to them.

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Who Is Eligible to Receive ACP?

If you are newly qualified to receive the benefits, you should sign up immediately. The program is available to any household who receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and the assistance does not count as income against SSI benefit payments.

Households who take part in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, federal public housing assistance, the National School Lunch or School Breakfast Program, WIC, veterans pension or survivor benefits — or Lifeline — may also qualify, according to FCC.gov.

Even if you don’t participate in these programs, but have a household income below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, you may qualify.

How to Apply for ACP

To enroll for ACP or to see if you qualify, visit AffordableConnectivity.gov and submit an application online. You can also print out and mail the application. Then, contact your preferred participating internet provider to select an internet plan. The discount will be applied to your bill if you qualify for ACP.

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More From GOBankingRates

About the Author

 
 

Dawn Allcot


Dawn Allcot is a full-time freelance writer and content marketing specialist who geeks out about finance, e-commerce, technology, and real estate. Her lengthy list of publishing credits include Bankrate, Lending Tree, and Chase Bank. She is the founder and owner of GeekTravelGuide.net, a travel, technology, and entertainment website. She lives on Long Island, New York, with a veritable menagerie that includes 2 cats, a rambunctious kitten, and three lizards of varying sizes and personalities – plus her two kids and husband. Find her on Twitter, @DawnAllcot.

 
 

Clipped from: https://www.gobankingrates.com/retirement/social-security/social-security-snap-medicaid-wic-beneficiaries-internet-discount/

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Julie Beckett, who fought for change in Medicaid system, dies

[MM Curator Summary]: The mom who fought for Medicaid to cover Medicaid home and community services has died after a decades-long career of patient advocacy.

 
 

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

 
 

 
 

CEDAR RAPIDS — More tha

n 40 years ago, Julianne “Julie” Beckett fought to bring her daughter home.

The Cedar Rapids resident advocated to remove red tape that prevented her for caring for her disabled daughter at home, eventually bringing her case to Congress and the White House.

Policymakers and disability rights advocates say Beckett was instrumental in bringing fundamental changes to the federal Medicaid program that ultimately improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of families nationwide. She become a lifelong advocate for improving health care for children with disabilities and boosting support for families caring for loved ones with complex medical needs.

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Beckett died Friday, May 13, in her Cedar Rapids home. She was 72.

 
 

Beckett’s daughter, Katie Beckett, was born in 1978 and contracted viral encephalitis — a serious infection that causes inflammation of the brain — when she was 6 months old. The infection resulted in a paralyzed diaphragm, significantly affecting her ability to breathe on her own. A tracheotomy tube was placed in her throat and she used a ventilator to help her breathe for the rest of her life.

Katie spent the next three and a half years in the hospital.

 
 

Medicaid took over coverage of Katie’s care after her parents’ insurance hit the $1 million benefit limit for coverage. At the time, the Medicaid program supported only hospital-based care, meaning Katie’s care would not be covered if she were discharged home.

 
 

Beckett began advocating for the ability to care for her daughter at home. In 1981, she contacted former U.S. Rep. Thomas Tauke, a Republican who at the time was representing Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District.

 
 

Katie’s hospital care was about $12,000 per month, but costs would drop to about $2,000 per month if her parents were allowed to care for her at home with the help of home health nurses.

 
 

“It was one of those situation where the rules of government didn’t meet the needs of the family,” Tauke told The Gazette this week.

He continued, “Julie was a very positive person. She obviously faced a lot of frustration with the situation, but she did not let that frustration deter her.”

 
 

Tauke brought the family’s story to Vice President George H.W. Bush, who brought the matter to President Ronald Reagan. In a news conference Nov. 10, 1981, Reagan cited Katie’s case as an example of “hidebound regulation.”

 
 

The Katie Beckett Waiver was created shortly after, establishing a program that allowed individuals with disabilities to use Medicaid dollars to get health care while living at home or in the community.

 
 

Beckett’s efforts resulted in a fundamental shift in the federal program. The Katie Beckett waiver became the foundation for Medicaid community-based supports nationwide, which has gone on to improve the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of children with complex medical needs nationwide.

 
 

“She didn’t know that she was going to tip history the way that it did,” said Delaine Petersen, a fellow advocate and friend of Beckett’s since the 1980s. “Her first and foremost goal was to get that child home, but she talked to the right people and people listened to her.”

 
 

Katie went home on Dec. 18, 1981. She went on to graduate from Mount Mercy University in 2001 and lived independently in Cedar Rapids.

 
 

“Julie worked so hard to help Katie be as successful as she possibly could be,” Petersen said.

Wednesday marked 10 years since Katie Beckett died. She was 34.

 
 

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Beckett continued to work with policymakers in Washington to develop programs to improve health care and remove barriers for children with complex needs. She was a driving force behind legislation like the Family Opportunity Act, and pushed federal leaders to embrace a family-centric model that better acknowledged family members’ roles in care.

 
 

In 1992, she founded Family Voices, a national nonprofit organization that brought together families of children with disabilities who were advocating for health care reform.

Among her many accomplishments, she helped the organization establish Family-to Family Health Information Centers, federally funded resources that now exists in all states and in five territories.

 
 

Family Voices Executive Director Nora Wells said Beckett retired from the board of directors last year after nearly 30 years.

 
 

“She was a person that wanted to fix things,” Wells said. “If there was a problem she thought she could contribute to, she was on board. She thought bigger than her own family, and wanted to improve systems and make things better for people.”

 
 

In a statement on Beckett’s death, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said the country “lost a passionate advocate for children and youth with special health care needs and disabilities.”

 
 

“While Julie would often say she was `’Katie Beckett’s mom,” we also knew her as a passionate advocate and servant leader,” Grassley wrote. “Julie’s lifelong pursuit to improve the lives of children and youth with special health care needs and disabilities made an impact for the better for her community, state and nation.”

 
 

The Iowa Department of Human Services also issued a statement noting the loss of “a pioneering advocate and champion for children.”

 
 

“Julie dedicated her life to championing the cause of children with complex medical needs. While we mourn her passing, we also celebrate the life of an Iowan whose work touched the lives of countless children and families across the United States. Julie will be deeply missed,” state officials said.

 
 

Beckett was working to improve the lives of Iowans and others across the country up until her final days. Petersen said they had planned a trip to Washington next month to meet with Grassley and other elected officials to discuss their concerns about current wait times for Medicaid members to receive services.

 
 

“She never, ever stopped being an advocate,” Petersen said. “You don’t have to be rich, loud or famous to make a difference. I think Julie would say, ‘I was just a mom and I did the right thing.'”

Comments: (319) 398-8469; michaela.ramm@thegazette.com

 
 

From <https://www.thegazette.com/health-care-medicine/julie-beckett-who-fought-for-change-in-medicaid-system-dies/>

 
 

Clipped from: https://www.thegazette.com/health-care-medicine/julie-beckett-who-fought-for-change-in-medicaid-system-dies/

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Biden administration drops fight over Texas’ Medicaid waiver

[MM Curator Summary]: Biden backs down and Texas safety net providers start to recover from 12 months of uncertainty caused by the unprecedented political power-grab use of CMS.

 
 

The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.

 
 

Debate over the waiver was key to the federal government’s push for Texas to expand Medicaid for more working poor.

 
 

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A federal health care program that Texas uses to help pay for health care for uninsured Texans — worth billions of dollars annually — is safe for another decade after the federal government said Friday that it would stop fighting the Trump-era agreement to extend the program beyond its expiration date later this year.

“It is not the best use of the federal government’s limited resources to continue to litigate this matter,” reads a letter sent Friday to state health officials from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “This should resolve the issue without the need for further litigation and will create no disruption to the people who rely on Texas’ Medicaid program.”

The announcement concludes a yearlong legal battle over the so-called 1115 waiver, specifically how long it should stay in effect and how parts of it should be funded.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said that while he was glad the Biden administration dropped its efforts to block the waiver’s extension, he blamed it for a “boneheaded move” that did nothing but hurt Texans.

“Medicaid funding is vital for Texas’ most vulnerable, and the Biden Administration’s original decision put their care in jeopardy,” Cornyn said in a prepared statement. “This move would have been damaging during normal times, but following two unprecedented years for health care providers and patients it was downright ruthless.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also criticized the federal government’s opposition to the waiver extension but welcomed the Friday decision to let it continue until 2030.

“The original rescission by the Biden administration last April obstructed healthcare access for vulnerable Texans and took away crucial resources for rural hospitals in Texas, and I am grateful that Texans will now continue to have access to the health care resources they need.”

Texas hospital officials expressed relief that the future of the waiver was no longer in question but continued to push for other programs to help pay for the care of Texas’ uninsured population — the largest in the nation.

“While funding, staffing and COVID-19 continue to challenge hospitals, we look forward to having a solid foundation to work from and rebuild,” said John Hawkins, president and CEO of the Texas Hospital Association. “The long-term health of our safety net must remain strong, and we will continue to underscore the need for coverage expansion, rates that more closely match the cost of care, and a stable uncompensated care pool.”

The waiver was initially set to expire this October, but in the waning days of his administration in 2021, President Donald Trump granted a 10-year extension — a move some healthcare advocates said was a way to provide political cover for Republicans who have refused to expand its Medicaid program to include more working poor adults.

Shortly after, under the Biden administration, which has been pressuring Texas and 11 other states to expand Medicaid coverage to more people, CMS rescinded the agreement in April 2021.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
sued to reinstate it last May, saying moves to shut it down were nothing but a political ploy by President Joe Biden to pressure the state into expanding Medicaid in order to continue helping hospitals care for the uninsured.

A majority of Texans support expanding Medicaid to include millions more mostly working poor people, according to recent surveys.

Paxton won a temporary victory from a federal judge in August, who ordered that the extension stay in place while the feds and the state negotiated over the details of the waiver.

The Friday decision means that the CMS action last April is rescinded and that the waiver extension stays in place without further litigation.

The agreement was meant to be temporary while Texas transitioned to an expanded Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act of 2010, but that never happened because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that states couldn’t be forced to expand Medicaid. The agreement is up for review every few years.

Since then, the state has relied on the waiver for various programs to care for Texas’ uninsured, with Republican state leaders frequently leaning on it in their arguments against Medicaid expansion.

Texas has the nation’s highest number of uninsured residents, estimated at 5 million, and also has the country’s biggest share of residents — at least 18% — who are not covered.

When uninsured people show up in emergency rooms, the hospitals care for them and then are reimbursed in part by the 1115 Medicaid waiver, which has brought some $30 billion to Texas in the past decade for uncompensated care, mental health programs and similar services.

Staff writer Abby Livingston contributed to this story from Washington.

Disclosure: The Texas Hospital Association has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

 
 

 
 

Clipped from: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/22/texas-medicaid-waiver/