Washington DC Update News
Below are recent articles from the Washington DC Update newsletter, a weekly Family Voices newsletter that provides the latest on national policy affecting children/youth with special health care needs and their families, and also shares relevant resources and happenings in the field.
Other News, Information, and Resources (Washington Update, February 14, 2019)
Federal Poverty Guidelines The Federal Register Notice for the 2019 Poverty Guidelines was published February 1, 2019, although guidelines were effective as of January 11, 2019. For the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, the guidelines are below:...
Announcement, Your Input Sought, Of Possible Interest (Washington Update, February 14, 2019)
ANNOUNCEMENT The HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) has announced that the Youth Health Equity Model of Practice (YHEMOP) Summer 2019 Health Equity Fellow Application is now available. Through its YHEMOP program, OMH places students enrolled in higher education...
Webinars from the Field (Washington Update, January 30, 2019)
Building Capacity to Include People Who Have Disabilities Wednesday, January 30, 12:00-1:00 pm ET Association of University Centers on Disabilities Successfully Engaging Members in Plan Governance Wednesday, January 30, 12:30-2:00 pm ET Centers for Medicare and...
The “Shut-Down” (Washington Update, January 30, 2019)
No doubt you have heard that the partial government “shut-down” has been ended until at least February 15 in order to allow time for Congress and President Trump to negotiate over funding for a “wall” on the nation’s southwest border. Fortunately, this means that...
The Administration (Washington Update, January 30, 2019)
New Federal Policy on Restraint and Seclusion in Schools On January 17, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced a new department initiative to address the problem of restraint and seclusion of school children with disabilities. See U.S. Department of Education...
Congress (Washington Update, January 30, 2019)
Money-Follows-The-Person (MFP) Program Extended Temporarily On January 25, the president signed the Medicaid Extenders Act of 2019 (H.R. 259), which was approved in the Senate by unanimous consent on January 17. The Act provides $112 million for Money Follows the...
The Courts (Washington Update, January 30, 2019)
Kentucky residents have filed a lawsuit challenging the administration’s re-approval of a Medicaid waiver that would establish “community engagement” requirements for certain Medicaid beneficiaries. Eligibility for these individuals would be contingent on their...
Medicaid/CHIP News, Information, and Resources (Washington Update, January 30, 2019)
MEDICAID WAIVERS CMS Approves Arizona’s Medicaid Community Engagement Demonstration Amendment (CMS press release, 1/18/19). See CMS approves 8th state for Medicaid work requirement (Healthcare Dive, 1/22/19). WORTH REPEATING: Tennessee proposes to amend its...
Affordable Care Act (Washington Update, January 30, 2019)
OPEN ENROLLMENT The only jurisdictions that are still open for insurance-coverage enrollment are New York and the District of Columbia. In both, the enrollment period ends on January 31. NOTICE OF BENEFIT AND PAYMENT PARAMETERS (NBPP) On January 17, the Department of...
TRICARE (Washington Update, January 30, 2019)
Learn More about Your Benefit with 2019 TRICARE Resources Jan. 22, 2019 Save Money at the Pharmacy: Understanding TRICARE Prescription Drug Types Jan. 16, 2019 WORTH REPEATING: Government Shutdown: Some Allotment Payments Affected The partial government shutdown...
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