
Family Voices News
Medicaid and CHIP News, Information, and Resources (Washington Update, October 31, 2018)
As reported earlier, the president has signed into law the bipartisan “SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act” (H.R. 6). This blog post explains how the Medicaid provisions in the new law will help children. How Would Medicaid Provisions of New Law to Address Opioid...
Affordable Care Act (Washington Update, October 31, 2018)
Open Enrollment – See the end of this Update for resources to help assisters and consumers. REMEMBER: 2019 Open Enrollment runs from Nov. 1 through Dec. 15, 2018. Important message from HHS regarding Find Local Help Assisters are encouraged to ensure their listings on...
TRICARE (Washington Update, October 31, 2018)
TRICARE Open Season runs from November 12 through December 10. ECHO Benefit Year Changes to Calendar Year (10/17/18) Prepare for TRICARE Open Season: Compare TRICARE Plan Costs with Cost Comparison Tool (10/19/18) Compare 2019 FEDVIP Dental, Vision Plans Ahead of...
Other News, Information, and Resources (Washington Update, October 31, 2018)
FDA Asks For Comments on Labeling Sesame Ingredients in Foods The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a “Request for Information” requesting input from the public about whether it should require that sesame be listed as an ingredient on food labels to help...
Your Input Sought/Announcements/Of Possible Interest (Washington Update, October 31, 2018)
YOUR INPUT SOUGHT Nominations Sought for Federal Family Caregiving Advisory Council – due Dec. 3 The Secretary of Health & Human Services (HHS) has posted a Notice requesting nominations for individuals to serve on the Family Caregiving Advisory Council, which was...
Greetings from Washington (Washington Update, October 25, 2018)
The Senate has joined the House in a pre-election recess. Both chambers will return to DC on November 13. Meanwhile, the administration has been very active in the health care sphere. During the past two weeks, the administration appointed a new head of the Center...
Upcoming Webinars and Calls (Washington Update, October 25, 2018)
NEW SERIES 2019 Assister Readiness Webinars, from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). To receive invitations to the live webinars and notifications when new material is posted, email ASSISTERLISTSERV@cms.hhs.gov with “Add to listserv” as the...
The Administration (Washington Update, October 25, 2018)
New administrator for the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services The Trump administration has appointed Mary Mayhew to be the new head of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS), which is within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (administered by...
Congress (Washington Update, October 25, 2018)
Congress is in recess until after the elections. This is a good time to visit your Senators and Representatives in their local offices to educate them about children with special health care needs, the needs of their families, and your state’s Family-to-Family Health...
Medicaid and CHIP News, Information, and Resources (Washington Update, October 25, 2018)
OIG signs off on Medicaid plan’s preventive screening incentive payments (FierceHealthcare, 10/19/18) Last week, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) signed off on a Medicaid insurer's plan to make incentive payments to providers that increased preventive...