Inside Health Policy (April 24, 2019)

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has invited states that aren’t currently participating in the duals demonstration to talk with the agency about starting their own version, whether through the capitated financial alignment model, the managed fee-for-service model or some other state-specific model worked out with the agency. CMS also said it plans to allow states that are already in the demonstration to make some changes, if necessary, or to extend the ongoing-demo for multiple years. Justice in Aging attorney Georgia Burke was interviewed for the article and noted that she’s happy CMS intends to work with states to continue the ongoing demonstrations and hopefully drawing on lessons learned for new states to incorporate in their demos. She also praised CMS for encouraging multiple models, and touted CMS’ emphasis on stakeholder involvement and beneficiary protections. She also noted that passive demonstration enrollment and locking in participation are not a good idea because consumer choice is important. Justice in Aging will be looking for beneficiary ombudsman programs to be included in new demonstrations. This article is unavailable online. This is a summary.