Other Resource

This HPMS memo provides additional guidance and clarification on four topics related to new integration standards for Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans: (1) distinctions between fully integrated D-SNPs (FIDE SNPs) and highly integrated (HIDE SNPs); (2) permissibility of carve-outs of behavioral health services and long term services and supports (LTSS) for FIDE SNPs and HIDE SNPs; (3) alignment of D-SNP and companion Medicaid plan service areas; and (4) compliance with integration requirements for D-SNPs that only enroll partial-benefit dually eligible individuals.

This memo to all Medicare Advantage Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) summarizes the new calendar year (CY) 2021 requirements for Medicare-Medicaid integration. These requirements were detailed in an April 2019 CMS final rule and must be incorporated into CY 2021 contracts with states that D-SNPs are required to submit to CMS by July 6, 2020.  

This Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule strengthens patient protections, improves care coordination, and provides administrative flexibilities and regulatory relief for Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). The final rule removes redundancies and eliminates outdated information, which will reduce administrative burden on PACE organizations, and allow clinicians and other care providers to focus more of their time on patients.

To better inform analysis of existing policies and development of future policies that affect Medicaid payments, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) released a compendium of each state’s fee-forservice DME policies along with a companion issue brief summarizing payment and coverage policies and issues.

This report provides a national overview of long-term services and supports (LTSS) rebalancing and highlights 10 states – Missouri, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Colorado, South Carolina, Illinois, Nevada, and Arkansas – that have made the greatest progress in decreasing institutional spending. The profiles include state characteristics (e.g., LTSS spending per state resident, participation in rebalancing initiatives, etc.) and strategies states utilized in their progress towards rebalancing their LTSS systems.

This State Medicaid Director Letter invites states to partner with CMS to test innovative approaches to better serve individuals who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. The three new opportunities include: capitated Financial Alignment models; (2) managed fee-for-service Financial Alignment models; and (3) state-specific models. 

This MACPAC report reviews and analyzes care coordination requirements in the managed care organization contracts of nine states participating in demonstrations under the Financial Alignment Initiative, 10 states that contract with Fully Integrated Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (FIDE SNPs), and eight states that contract with Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) that are required to have companion plans that provide Medicaid managed longterm services and supports (MLTSS plans). 

This blog post looks at Idaho's Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP)-based program’s structure and highlights early successes and lessons for other states. Idaho’s approach may be interesting to states that want to integrate care, but do not have Medicaid managed long-term services and supports (MLTSS) programs.

This Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Informational Bulletin provides an additional strategy for states to support timely access to durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) for people dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. The Informational Bulletin clarifies that states do not need to require a Medicare denial for DMEPOS that Medicare routinely denies as non-covered under the Medicare DME benefit.

This State Medicaid Director Letter highlights ten opportunities for states to better serve individuals dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.