MACPAC Summary, Part 2

On Friday, commissioners addressed several other HCBS-specific items. One session, ‘HCBS Spending and Utilization,’ focused on HCBS spending and utilization by demographic characteristics, taxonomy categories, and long-term services and supports (LTSS) subpopulations. This analysis examined data spanning 2019 to 2021 from the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS), providing an update to MACPAC’s 2017 HCBS […]

MACPAC Summary, Part 1

On December 12-13, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) held their monthly convening. Several sessions were of relevance to the home care community, including managed care oversight, self-direction in home and community-based services (HCBS), findings from an extensive analysis of HCBS spending and utilization patterns, and findings on Medicaid payment policies that […]

CMS Training Series on the HCBS Provisions of Medicaid Access Rule

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is continuing their training series on the home-and community-based services (HCBS) provisions of the Medicaid Access Rule. The Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services final rule (Access rule) advances access to care and quality of care, and will improve health outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries across fee-for-service (FFS) and […]

HCBS Waiting Lists Remain ‘An Incomplete Picture Of Need’

MACPAC Meeting Addresses Important HCBS Issues

On September 19th, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) hosted its monthly public meeting to discuss various issues related to Medicaid, including several that are important for home care providers. Specifically, MACPAC discussed recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations (including the Medicaid Access Rule), timely access to HCBS services, […]

CMS Releases Guidance on Redeterminations of HCBS Recipients

On Monday, August 19, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an Informational Bulletin (CIB) that provides information and guidance regarding Medicaid redeterminations for individuals who receive home and community-based services (HCBS). As NAHC has previously noted, older adults and individuals with disabilities – including many that receive HCBS – were often overlooked […]

CMS Seeks Feedback on Home and Community-Based Services Quality Measures

As part of the Medicaid Access Rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will require every state Medicaid program to report information on a standardized set of Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) national quality measures beginning in 2028. The quality measures will come from a subset of the National HCBS Quality Measure Set, […]

CMS Open Door Forum on HCBS Access Rule

The next CMS Long-Term Services and Supports Open Door Forum scheduled for Tuesday, July 30, 2024, from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Eastern Time (ET). Please log on at least 15 minutes before call start time. Conference Leaders: Jill Darling, CMS Office of Communications **This Agenda is Subject to Change** Alissa Deboy, Director of the […]

Tell Congress to Stop the Medicaid HCBS 80/20 Pass Through!

In the Medicaid Access Rule CMS finalized a requirement that no less than 80% of all Medicaid payments, including but not limited to base payments and supplemental payments, be spent on compensation to direct care workers, for homemaker services, home health aide services, and personal care services. This requirement applies to services delivered under sections […]

CMS Publishes Proposed Template for Medicaid Rate Reduction Data

On May 20, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a notice of information collection in the Federal Register that implements new requirements placed on States in the Medicaid Access Rule. As part of the Medicaid Access rule, states have new requirements that they must fulfill before implementing any rate reductions or restructures […]

NAHC Analysis of the Medicaid Access Rule

On April 22, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final Medicaid Access Rule (CMS-2442-F). The regulation becomes “effective” on July 9, 2024, which is 60 days after the scheduled formal publishing in the Federal Register; however, a number of the provisions do not actually take hold until several years after […]

CMS Releases Updates to HCBS Quality Measures

On Thursday, April 11, CMS released three items relevant to quality measurement in Home and Community-Based Services. These include: A CMCS Informational Bulletin that updates the existing HCBS Quality Dataset. The HCBS Quality Dataset, first implemented in 2022, is a set of national measures that is voluntary for state Medicaid agencies to collect and report. […]