Learning health for Michigan: The path forward
In the United States, health care purchasers, consumers, and policymakers are demanding improvements in the quality and efficiency of medical care. A promising approach to meet this demand is the development of what is known as a learning health system (LHS). A learning health system has the capability to continuously study and improve itself. Among many types of benefits it …
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Changes to Healthy Michigan Plan and Medicaid work requirements
New Michigan Medicaid work requirements and changes to the Healthy Michigan Plan were signed into law on Friday, June 22 and will begin to take effect in 2020. The major changes to the Healthy Michigan Plan are: The new law has added work requirements for non-exempt enrollees, while the previous plan had no work requirements. Previously, Healthy Michigan enrollees with …
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A Consumer’s Guide to New Michigan Medicaid Work Requirements
New Michigan Medicaid work requirements were signed into law on Friday, June 22, and will begin to take effect in 2020. The new law changes the Healthy Michigan Plan, and 700,000 people will be directly impacted. Of the 2.5 million Michiganders who receive Medicaid coverage, 1.8 million traditional Medicaid enrollees are exempt. The program will start January 1, 2020. Michigan’s …
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Proposed work requirements for Medicaid in Michigan: June 7, 2018
At the start of 2018, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a major shift in federal policy that would allow states to request permission to establish, and test the impact of, work and community engagement requirements for able-bodied adults receiving Medicaid health insurance coverage. In the last five months, work requirement proposals have been approved in …
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Setting the stage for the 2019 Health Insurance Marketplace
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is rolling back regulations around rate increases, essential health benefits, health insurance navigators, and more, for insurers offering Qualified Health Plan coverage on the Health Insurance Marketplace in 2019. On April 9, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued new guidance for insurers offering Qualified Health Plan (QHP) coverage on the Health …
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Proposed work requirements for Medicaid in Michigan: April 20, 2018
At the start of 2018, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a major shift in federal policy that would allow states to request permission to establish, and test the impact of, work and community engagement requirements for able-bodied adults receiving Medicaid health insurance coverage. In early March, Michigan state senators took the first step toward preparing a …
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Advancing the Profession and Sustainability of Community Health Workers
Community Health Workers (CHWs) strive to bridge gaps between traditional healthcare providers and the communities they serve, but the community health worker profession faces several challenges to realizing its full potential. In the fall of 2017, the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation (CHRT) published an issue brief that focused on the ways State Innovation Model (SIM) grants have helped …
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Bipartisan Budget Act adds $3B for substance abuse, mental health, more
The Bipartisan Budget Act was signed into law on February 9, 2018. While the main purpose of the legislation is to temporarily fund the federal government through March 23, 2018, it also includes an agreement to raise the caps on domestic and military spending for the next two years. The legislation includes many health care policies, as well. The health care …
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EHR Interoperability and Patient-Centered Care
In 2009, Congress passed the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act to modernize the U.S. healthcare system through the implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHRs), software systems that create a digital version of a patient’s medical chart. HITECH incentives accelerated widespread adoption of EHRs. However, the ability to exchange information between different EHRs across various healthcare …
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Changes in Primary Care Physicians’ Patient Characteristics Under the ACA
When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed in 2010, health analysts expressed concerns that the expansion in coverage, predominantly through Medicaid and the Health Insurance Marketplace would overload the health system and cause problems
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