Two CMS Updates: Tech Training and Potential Enrollee Policy Change

To keep our members abreast of Medicaid resources and broader policy discussions, we flag resources developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS):

Technology Training Webinar: The second installment is now available for Beyond the Pandemic: How Technology Influences and Ensures an Integrated Life in the Community.

Date: July 14 from 1:30-3pm EST.

“This training is the second session of a two-part presentation on how technology can influence and ensure an integrated life in the community.  The use of technology to support the ongoing delivery of services during the COVID-19 pandemic has been widespread.  This training will explore how to take lessons learned and consider the use of technology in supporting reintegration with in-person services and assist home and community-based services (HCBS) participants to re-engage with their communities.” Register here.

Potential Changes to Medicaid Rules Surrounding the End of the Pandemic Public Health Emergency. “Medicaid advocates say a rule on the Spring 2021 regulatory agenda could change the Trump-era guidance that directed states to begin kicking millions of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program beneficiaries off the rolls within six months after the public health emergency ends or face corrective action.

States are eagerly awaiting the Biden administration’s policies on the issue as experts estimate 20% to 30% of the record 80.5 million beneficiaries now enrolled in Medicaid could lose coverage after the PHE under the current guidelines”, InsideHealthPolicy reports. While people with disabilities enrolled in Medicaid programs would likely not be largely affected by this policy discussion, it has large implications for the size of overall state Medicaid budgets. This in turn affects the policy environment in which our members advocate for their programs at the state level.