On June 11, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued new guidance to state Medicaid directors about how states can harness Medicaid health information technology to combat the opioid crisis. CMS encourages states to pursue strategies such as enhanced prescription drug monitoring programs, drug utilization review programs, and opioid risk assessment tools which can be integrated into electronic health record systems...

On Monday, June 4, 2018, Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy ordered the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to submit by June 11, 2018 a state plan to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)to provide expanded Medicaid eligibility to appropriate Maine residents pursuant to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  

On June 4, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled a new performance scorecard offering critical metrics on state health system performance, state administrative performance, and federal administrative performance under Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

While much of the attention over the debate over the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has centered at the Federal level, states continue to act as the laboratories for innovation. Last year Health Policy News featured a series of updates on activity around Section 1332 State Innovation Waivers in the states – with a focus primarily on State-based reinsurance and invisible high risk pool mechanisms.  That activity continues – though at a slower pace – with the recent waiver requests submitted by Wisconsin and Ohio.