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On November 13, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published a final rule, demonstrating long-awaited efforts to streamline the regulatory framework governing the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (“CHIP”) managed care programs.

According to CMS, the purpose of the final rule is to relax certain administrative burdens imposed by the Medicaid managed care rule promulgated by the Obama Administration in 2016. The 2016 rule (the “Mega Reg”), reflecting efforts to modernize the Medicaid and CHIP managed care programs and frustrate widespread fraud and abuse, was the first update to Medicaid managed care regulations in more than a decade.  The following blog post presents a brief summary of the final rule’s key changes.Continue Reading 2020 Medicaid Managed Care Rule Summary

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule  to stabilize the individual and small group markets to entice issuers to continue participation in the exchanges in 2018 despite continued uncertainty surrounding repeal and replacement proposals for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The proposed rule, published today, would make the following changes to the individual and small group markets:

  • Open Enrollment: The proposed rule would shorten the Open Enrollment period from November 1, 2017 – January 31, 2018 to November 1, 2017 – December 15, 2017. This would align open enrollment for exchanges with both the employer market (including the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program) and Medicare Advantage open enrollment periods. CMS hopes that the modifications in enrollment period will mitigate adverse selection by requiring individuals to enroll in plans before the benefit year begins and pay premiums day 1 of the benefit year rather than allowing individuals who learn they will need services in late December and January to enroll at that time.
  • Special Enrollment Period: In response to perceived abuses of special enrollment periods (SEPs)—which allow individuals to enroll outside of the open enrollment period when there is a special circumstance (e.g., new family member)—the proposed rule would require verification of an individual’s SEP eligibility 100% of the time beginning in June 2017. Currently, eligibility for an SEP is verified only 50% of the time. Under pre-enrollment verification for new customers, consumers would submit their information and select a plan but their enrollment would be “pended” until completion of the verification. Consumers would have 30 days to submit information to verify their eligibility. The start date of the coverage would be (as it is today) the date of plan selection, but it wouldn’t be effective until the “pend” had been lifted following verification. The rule is limited to pre-enrollment verification of eligibility to individuals newly enroll through SEPs in marketplaces using the HealthCare.gov platform. The proposed rule would also limit certain individuals’ ability to switch to different levels of coverage during an SEP. The SEP provisions of the proposed rule may offer the most significant relief of all the proposed changes.
    Continue Reading HHS Proposes New Regulations Aimed At Stabilizing the Individual Market

On May 6, 2016, CMS published the Medicaid managed care final rule in the Federal Register. The Final Rule overhauls Medicaid managed care for the first time in 14 years and tracks many of the industry-wide developments that followed enactment of the ACA. Given the breadth of the rule, Crowell & Moring is covering…

Medicare Advantage (“MA”) plans may want to think twice before modifying their provider networks.  In an August 27, 2015 letter, CMS announced that MA plan enrollees may elect to change plans if their current plan makes a significant provider network change with substantial beneficiary impact.

The letter provides an overview of how CMS will implement…