News
6/11/13 The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued a final recommendation statement on interventions to prevent the maltreatment of children, including child abuse or neglect, from birth to 18 years old. The USPSTF concluded that there is not enough evidence about how primary care clinicians can intervene to prevent abuse among children who show no signs or symptoms of maltreatment. Such interventions were therefore given an "I" recommendation, which means the USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of the service. The panel noted that child abuse is a serious health problem and that research in related areas (such as harsh punishment and possible connections between domestic violence and child abuse) should be a public health priority.
The USPSTF is an independent panel of non-federal government experts that conduct reviews of scientific evidence of preventive health care services. The USPSTF then develops and publishes recommendations for primary care clinicians and health systems in the form of recommendation statements. As part of their recommendations process, the USPSTF will assign definitions to the services they review based on the certainty that a patient will receive a substantial benefit from receiving the benefit. Services that are graded "A" and "B" are highly recommended and the USPSTF believes there is a high certainty that patient will receive a substantial or moderate benefit.
Under ACA §1001, all of the recommended services receiving grades of "A" or "B" must be provided without cost-sharing when delivered by an in-network health insurance provider in the plan years (or, in the individual market, policy years) that begin on or after September 23, 2010. Because the final recommendation received an "I" rating (indicating that the evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of primary care interventions to prevent child maltreatment), the interventions will not be required to be covered without cost-sharing under the ACA.
The USPSTF issued its
draft recommendation statement on primary care interventions to prevent child abuse in January 2013.
EOHHS News
Update: MassHealth Section 1115 Demonstration Amendment
On June 4, 2013 EOHHS submitted a request to amend the MassHealth Section 1115 Demonstration to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The MassHealth Section 1115 Demonstration provides federal authority for Massachusetts to expand eligibility to individuals who are not otherwise Medicaid or CHIP eligible, offer services that are not typically covered by Medicaid, and use innovative service delivery systems that improve care, increase efficiency, and reduce costs.
The Demonstration amendment request outlines the specific authorities being requested from CMS to implement changes consistent with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), affecting eligibility, benefits, programs and delivery systems, as well as changes to expenditure authorities under the Demonstration. An attachment to the Amendment is a Transition Plan that explains in additional detail how the State plans to coordinate the transition of individuals enrolled in the Demonstration to a new coverage option available under the ACA without interruption in coverage to the maximum extent possible. The documents had previously been included in ACA Update emails during the public comment process, and changes to the proposal were made in response to comments received.
The updated proposed Amendment and Transition Plan and additional relevant information are available at:
Mass.Gov
Integrating Medicare and Medicaid for Dual Eligible Individuals
The Massachusetts Duals Demonstration is now called One Care: MassHealth plus Medicare. One Care is a new health care option for people with disabilities. One Care offers a better, simpler way for people to get the care they need. To join One Care, a person must be eligible for both MassHealth and Medicare and be 21 to 64 years old. For more information about One Care, please visit:
A revised timeline for the implementation of One Care is provided below. These changes have been agreed to by MassHealth and CMS following careful consideration of the time needed to achieve key milestones before enrollment of members into One Care plans begins.
Key dates in the revised timeline include:
|
Work Stream |
Expected
Date |
Entity |
Action |
|
Readiness
Review |
Mid-June |
Plans |
One Care plans resubmit provider networks |
|
Outreach |
July |
MA |
Public awareness campaign begins |
|
Contract |
Mid- July |
CMS, MA
and
Plans |
Three-way contracts signed |
|
Implementation |
August |
MA and
Plans |
MassHealth and plan implementation
readiness activities |
|
Outreach |
Sept. 1 |
MA |
Self-selection letters sent to individuals
in target population. Outreach to potential enrollees begins. |
|
Marketing |
Sept. 1 |
Plans |
Plan marketing begins |
|
Implementation |
October 1 |
All |
One Care start date, self-selection
enrollments only |
|
Implementation |
November 1 |
MA |
60 day notice sent to first auto-
assignment group (individuals in C1 and F1 rating categories) |
|
Implementation |
January 1,
2014
|
Plans |
Effective date for first wave of auto-
assignment
- 2nd wave of auto-assigment effective tentatively April 1, 2014
- Possible 3rd wave of auto-assignment tentatively July 1, 2014
|
MassHealth thanks all stakeholders for continuing to work with us on this important initiative.
Upcoming Events
Money Follows the Person (MFP) Stakeholder Meeting
June 25, 2013
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
McCormack Building, 21st Floor
1 Ashburton Place
Boston, MA
Please contact MFP@state.ma.us if you would like to attend the meetings. Requests for reasonable accommodations should be sent to MFP@state.ma.us. Although an RSVP is not required, it is appreciated.
Integrating Medicare and Medicaid for Dual Eligible Individuals Open Meeting
Friday, June 28, 2013
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
State Transportation Building, Conf Rooms 1, 2 and 3
10 Park Plaza
Boston, MA
Integrating Medicare and Medicaid for Dual Eligible Individuals Implementation Council Meeting
July 12, 2013
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
State Transportation Building, Conference Rooms 1, 2 and 3
10 Park Plaza
Boston, MA
Reasonable accommodations are available upon request. Please contact Kate Russell at Kate.Russell@umassmed.edu to request accommodations.
Integrating Medicare and Medicaid for Dual Eligible Individuals Implementation Council Subcommittees
Long Term Services and Supports Subcomittee
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Thomas Crane Public Library, Community Conference Room
40 Washington St.
Quincy, MA 02169
Due to space limitations, RSVPs are required. Interested stakeholders should contact Kate Russell at Kate.Russell@umassmed.edu by 5pm on Monday, June 24, to join the LTSS Subcommitte. Please include your name, contact information, affiliation, and subcommittee of interest.
Quarterly Affordable Care Act Implementation Stakeholder Meeting
September 16, 2013
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
1 Ashburton Place, 21st Floor
Boston, MA
