White Papers

03.06.20

The Fiscal Impact of the Trump Administration’s Medicaid Block Grant Initiative

The Trump administration recently invited states to apply for the new Healthy Adult Opportunity Medicaid demonstration initiative, which lets states opt in to a block grant funding model for a portion of their Medicaid enrollees in exchange for fewer federal rules. By capping federal funding, the ...




02.20.20

Paying for Value in Behavioral Health

In recent years, state Medicaid programs and the U.S. healthcare system as a whole have shifted from traditional fee-for-service payment methodologies toward value-based purchasing (VBP) models.




02.06.20

Bipartisan Rx for America’s Health Care: A Practical Path to Reform

The Bipartisan Policy Center launched the Future of Health Care initiative in 2017 with a bipartisan group of leading national policy experts to create a consensus approach to improving our nation’s healthcare system.




02.04.20

CMS Guidance Authorizes Medicaid Demonstration Applications That Cap Federal Funding: Implications f

On January 30, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released long-anticipated guidance that invites states to pursue capped funding demonstrations for the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion population as well as optional, non-elderly, non-disabled adults.




01.31.20

Strategies to Expand Transparency, Enhance Competition and Control Costs: A Toolkit for Insurance Re

State insurance regulators play many roles in making health insurance more available and affordable to consumers. Two that stand out are enhancing transparency and promoting competition. Every state department of insurance (DOI) has a consumer complaint hotline and provides information to help ...




01.30.20

Medicare Part D Redesign With Out-of-Pocket Caps

During the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (MedPAC’s) January 16 public session, MedPAC staff continued their drumbeat for reforming the Part D benefit following recommendations previously made in their June 2016 Report to Congress. Continuing themes include eliminating the ...




12.05.19

Implementing a Statewide Healthcare Cost Benchmark

State interest in healthcare cost containment has grown dramatically since Massachusetts enacted the nation’s first cost benchmarking program in 2012. At that time, most states were focused on coverage expansion through the Affordable Care Act. More recently, however, coverage gains have ...




11.12.19

Using Medicaid to Advance Evidence-Based Treatment of Substance Use Disorders

In 2019, the number of drug overdose deaths in the United States declined, suggesting that the efforts of state and local governments, providers and other stakeholders to stem the crisis of drug-related deaths are beginning to have some effect. But there is much more work to do: Over 70,000 ...




11.12.19

Expanding Payer and Provider Participation in Data Exchange

States have struggled for decades to establish infrastructure that allows for the efficient and secure sharing of health information, despite it being associated with improved quality and reduced duplicative services and associated costs. California has made some progress, including the growth of ...




11.11.19

Evaluation of Medicaid Demonstrations under New CMS Guidance

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has formalized and strengthened requirements for evaluation of state Section 1115 Medicaid demonstrations, including new demonstration programs being permitted by the current administration that are both unprecedented and controversial. The ...