Family Voices News
CMS Guidance on Medicaid Coverage of Drugs Approved by the FDA under Its “Accelerated Approval Pathway”
On June 27, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) released guidance to states through State Release #185, titled State Medicaid Coverage of Drugs Approved by the FDA under Accelerated Approval Pathway. The...
CMS announces initiatives to strengthen Medicaid program integrity
On June 26, CMS announced ways that it would seek to strengthen program integrity. See CMS Launches Slate of Initiatives Aimed at Curbing Fraud, Waste in Medicaid (FierceHealthcare, 6/26/18).
Informational Bulletin on Medicaid Home and Community-based Services
As announced on June 28, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an Informational Bulletin on ensuring the health and welfare of individuals receiving Medicaid-funded Home and Community Based Services (HCBS). The Centers for Medicaid & CHIP...
CMS Rejects Massachusetts Request to Restrict Medicaid Drug Formulary
The Massachusetts Medicaid program asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to waive several different requirements of Medicaid law pursuant to the federal government’s waiver authority granted in section 1115 of the Social Security Act. Among the...
Of Possible Interest: 7/3/2018
Teaching Parents of Kids with Disabilities to Fight Back (NPR, 6/29/18, text and audio) – story about the Partners in Policymaking program.
Family Voices Policy Position on Separating Families
Family Voices has released a policy statement in regard to the practice of separating immigrant families.
Greetings from Washington: Washington Update, June 27, 2018 Summary
The big issue in DC is still the separation of immigrant children from their families at the southwest US border, or more precisely, how to reunite them. In order to gain sufficient support for ways to address this and other immigration issues, the House has postponed...
Medicaid Plays a Critical Role in Caring for Infants Exposed to Opiods or Other Drugs in Utero
A Georgetown Center on Children and Families blog post explains the recent Informational Bulletin to states about Medicaid coverage of services for neonatal abstinence syndrome.
Of Possible Interest
Sky-High Deductibles Broke the U.S. Health Insurance System (Bloomberg, 6/26/18) How will marketplace premiums change in 2019? It depends where you live. (Kaiser Family Foundation, 6/21/18)
Your Input Sought
Traveling by Air with Service Animals [corrected from May 31 Update.] Comments due July 9 On May 23, the Department of Transportation (DOT) published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding regulations of service animals under the Air Carrier...
Encourage confidence to act