May 2015 Public Meeting

The May 2015 meeting opened with a session on planning for MACPAC’s new congressionally mandated study on Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payment, scheduled for publication February 1, 2016. It was followed by a session on site visits to safety-net accountable care organizations.

In the afternoon the Commission turned its attention to the Financial Alignment Initiative Demonstration for dually eligible beneficiaries, with an update from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office, followed by results from focus groups conducted by MACPAC’s contractor, PerryUndem, with Financial Alignment Initiative Demonstration enrollees in California, Massachusetts, and Ohio. Commissioners then discussed CMS’s proposed rule on application of mental health parity requirements to Medicaid and CHIP. Later, the Commission received an update on trends in Medicaid spending and state budgets, and wrapped up with a briefing on CMS’s proposed rule to extend the 90/10 matching rate for states upgrading their eligibility and enrollment systems.

With CHIP funding assured through FY 2017, the Friday meeting began with a discussion of two broader questions regarding children’s coverage: the impact of cost sharing on access and use of services, and how other federal programs structure subsidies or benefits as income changes. The Commission also was briefed how estate recovery policies may affect adults newly eligible for Medicaid in expansion states. The final session of the May 2015 meeting addressed issues in Medicaid managed care rate setting in anticipation of forthcoming CMS notice of proposed rulemaking.

Presentations