Elisabeth Wright Burak

Dec 20, 2024 | ccf.georgetown.edu | Elisabeth Wright Burak

Regular Say Ahhh! readers know that most children covered by Medicaid in most states received their coverage through private insurance companies, or managed care organizations (MCOs). We believe that publicly-available data on Medicaid managed care performance is key to fully understanding how well Medicaid MCOs are working for children. Consistent, MCO-level data helps identify gaps in care for improvement and helps states identify the best policy tools to drive needed improvement.

Nov 15, 2024 | ccf.georgetown.edu | Elisabeth Wright Burak

Yesterday, CMS approved a set of another five state 1115 waiver demonstration applications to adopt multi-year continuous eligibility for children in Medicaid. Four states (Hawaii, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania) were approved to adopt continuous eligibility for children in Medicaid from birth to age 6; Colorado was approved to implement for children up to age 3. Hawaii was also approved to extend 24-month continuous eligibility to children ages 6 to 19, as in Oregon.

Oct 17, 2024 | ccf.georgetown.edu | Elisabeth Wright Burak

We at Georgetown CCF have been poring over CMS’s new EPSDT state health official (SHO) letter. Naturally, we do have some favorite points and analysis we will continue to highlight through this series on Say Ahhh!!! Today’s topic: The importance of state agency oversight of Medicaid managed care organizations, which the SHO refers to as Managed Care Programs (MCPs). The guidance includes one sentence three times.

Oct 7, 2024 | ccf.georgetown.edu | Joan Alker |Elisabeth Wright Burak

At Georgetown CCF we have been thinking about a day when no child in the United States is uninsured since our inception 19 years ago. Substantial progress has been made over the past two decades with some ups and downs along the way. However, as the recent Medicaid unwinding made abundantly clear, this day will not come until the many kinks in Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and retention policies become a thing of the past. These red tape glitches often affect children who remain eligible.

Jul 11, 2024 | ccf.georgetown.edu | Tricia Brooks |Anne Dwyer |Edwin Park |Elisabeth Wright Burak

CMS released a proposed rule related to Medicare hospital outpatient and ambulatory surgical center payments that also includes provisions codifying the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (CAA) requirement that states provide 12-months of continuous eligibility to all children in Medicaid and CHIP under age 19 as of January 1, 2024.