Tag Archives: States

Welcome back!  We hope everyone had a great start to 2023.  A new year provides an opportunity to look back on previous successes and identify areas for growth (this said, we certainly don’t expect everyone to make—let alone adhere to—a “new year’s resolution!”).

In its recent letter to state Medicaid directors, the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) encourages states to build on past efforts to address Medicaid beneficiaries’ social determinants of health (SDOH) by implementing an innovative option to meet beneficiaries’ health-related social needs (HRSNs).… More

On November 6, 2017 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an information bulletin on changes and improvements to the existing Section 1115 waiver process.[1]  Under Section 1115(a) of the Social Security Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services is permitted to waive compliance with any of the requirements of section 1902 of the Act (which generally sets forth the requirements for state Medicaid programs in order to receive Federal financial assistance) in order to pilot or test projects which,… More

In light of the growing cost (and demand for) specialty pharmaceutical products, and the corresponding stress this growth has had on state Medicaid coffers, CMS is now actively encouraging states Medicaid programs to engage in value based purchasing (VBP) arrangements with manufacturers.  On Thursday July 14, CMS released guidance documents to state Medicaid agencies and manufacturers regarding participation in these VBP arrangements.

Background

As states consider creative ways to finance high cost drug spend,… More