White Papers

02.02.18

Hospitals and Health Systems Prepare for a Value-Driven Future

Hospitals and health systems are actively working to serve their communities in numerous ways, including through the adoption of initiatives that control costs, improve outcomes and enhance patient-centered care. Many are working with payers to establish value-based payment (VBP) arrangements to ...




02.02.18

California Coverage Expansion Proposals: Federal Legal Considerations

Since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014, the uninsured rate in California has dropped by nearly half, from 16 percent in 2013 to 9 percent in 2015. However, 2.9 million Californians remained uninsured. And although California policymakers and the California ACA ...




01.31.18

Sustainable Investment in Social Interventions: Reviewing Rate-Setting Tools

In a paper prepared for the Commonwealth Foundation, Manatt Health identifies practical strategies that states can deploy to support Medicaid managed care plans and their network providers in addressing social issues.




01.30.18

Medicare Part D Cost Sharing Trends for Adult Vaccines

​Vaccination utilization among U.S. adults is low, and well below the Healthy People 2020 targets, despite widespread availability of safe and effective vaccines and long-standing use recommendations by the CDC and Prevention and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.




01.22.18

State Marketplace Stabilization Strategies

The Health Insurance Marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have become an important source of coverage for more than 10 million Americans, many of whom receive federal subsidies to reduce the cost of coverage. However, many of the Marketplaces are exhibiting signs of ...




12.07.17

Strengthening Medicaid LTSS in an Evolving Policy Environment

Long-term services and supports (LTSS) enable more than 12 million people to meet their personal care needs and live with dignity and independence in a variety of community and institutional settings. With LTSS expenditures of more than $140 billion annually, Medicaid is the single leading payer ...




10.26.17

The Regulatory Burden on Health Systems, Hospitals and PAC

Every day, health systems, hospitals and post-acute care (PAC) providers—including long-term care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies—confront the task of complying with emerging federal regulations. Federal regulations ...




10.26.17

Communities in Crisis: Local Responses to Behavioral Health Challenges

As the opioid and mental health crises continue to gain national attention, local leaders are stepping up to implement programs to address the prevalence and impact of untreated serious mental illness (SMI) and substance use disorders (SUD). In a new report supported by the Robert Wood Johnson ...




10.10.17

Summary of House and Senate CHIP Legislation

In early October 2017, both the House and Senate marked up legislation to extend funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which covers nearly 9 million children and is a key contributor to record-low levels of uninsured children. However, Congress provided funding for CHIP ...




10.03.17

Integrating MassHealth LTSS: Considerations for ACOs and MCOs

Massachusetts and the nation as a whole are beginning to grapple with how to improve access to quality care for individuals who require long-term service and supports (LTSS) while simultaneously containing costs. In November 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a ...