CHCS Monthly Update — October 2024
Center for Health Care Strategies
Better care where it's needed most
FOCUS ON???Building Healthy Futures: Addressing Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders During Pregnancy and Postpartum
The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income countries, significantly driven by mental health and substance use disorders (SUD). These behavioral health conditions contribute to over 20 percent of postpartum deaths, primarily through suicide and SUD overdoses. However, promising new evidence-based models that provide integrated, team-based care and community supports are emerging nationwide, offering hope for improved outcomes and greater birth equity.
This report from the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) examines access to care challenges and outlines key recommendations to support evidence-based, person-centered perinatal services for individuals with mental health disorders and/or SUD. Examples and recommendations can guide states, health plans, health systems, providers, and community-based organizations in improving maternal health and building healthier futures for moms and babies nationwide.
See also a related webinar that featured ground-level practitioners and state and health plan leaders who shared innovative approaches to better support pregnant and postpartum Medicaid members with behavioral health needs.
PROJECT UPDATES
Twenty Rising State Leaders Selected for the Medicaid Pathways Program
Congratulations to 20 rising Medicaid agency leaders selected for the 2025 class of the Medicaid Pathways Program! This executive training initiative supports a diverse group of Medicaid agency staff who are new to leadership roles or aspire to a more senior position in the future. Since 2021, the Medicaid Pathways Program has supported 80 rising Medicaid leaders from 31 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico — fostering a pipeline of future Medicaid executives with varied backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experience. Learn more
UPCOMING EVENTS
Understanding Medicare to Advance Medicare-Medicaid Integration: State and Enrollee Perspectives
November 20, 12:00 - 1:15 pm ET – This Better Care Playbook webinar will spotlight state Medicaid agencies in California, Iowa, and Tennessee that are building the Medicare knowledge needed to successfully integrate Medicare and Medicaid services for people who are dually eligible for both programs. It will also include a dually eligible enrollee who will share considerations for improving coordination to help individuals navigate these programs. The featured state panelists participated in CHCS’?Medicare Academy . Learn more and register
DID YOU KNOW? We’re all aging, and states are taking note!
As of October 2024, 38 states are developing or implementing a multisector plan for aging (MPA). CHCS recently surveyed states across the country to understand their efforts to launch MPAs. Learn more in this report, The State of Multisector Plans for Aging in 2024 .
THE LATEST
CMS-Approved Waivers Break New Ground for Medicaid Coverage of American Indian and Alaska Native Traditional Health Care Practices
This month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved waivers in four states — Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Oregon — that allow Medicaid agencies to cover traditional health care practices for the first time. This Policy Cheat Sheet provides a summary of these groundbreaking waivers, including who is eligible to provide and receive services, how and where services may be delivered, implementation support, and the waivers’ implications for increased cooperation across states and Tribal communities. Read more
Health-Related Social Needs in?Medicaid: State Checklist for Screening
Social needs screening and follow-up are crucial for identifying and responding to unmet health-related social needs and are often critical components of broader state-level health equity strategies. This tool outlines decision points for developing or improving screening policies?and provides state examples to help Medicaid agencies across the U.S. advance social needs screening policies and programs. Read more
领英推荐
Food for Thought: Medicaid Nutrition Benefit Design Approaches for Equitable Implementation
Nutrition insecurity is the most common challenge faced by many Medicaid members, yet Medicaid coverage of nutrition services is nascent. This brief can support policymakers who are grappling with how best to design and implement these benefits. It offers approaches for Medicaid policymakers to implement or evolve their nutrition strategy based on insights from state efforts already underway. Read more
Behavioral Health Integration in Medicaid Managed Care: Evidence Roundup
Integrating behavioral health within managed care — or carving-in behavioral health care — can improve care, increase access to behavioral health outpatient services, enhance care coordination, and promote greater cost predictability. This Better Care Playbook Evidence Roundup examines the evidence base for behavioral health integration and shares key policies and programmatic components that impact provider and enrollee experience and outcomes. Read more
Transforming the Child Health Care System
Over the past four years, CHCS has explored key strategies to reimagine child health care systems in a way that holistically addresses the physical, behavioral, and health-related social needs of children and their families. This blog post shares insights from two advisors to CHCS’ Accelerating Child Health Transformation initiative on why transformation is needed now more than ever, and what a reimagined system might look like. Read more
Preventing Child Welfare System Involvement: Opportunities for Primary Care and Medicaid to Advance Health Equity
By supporting child and family health and well-being, pediatric and family care providers can help prevent unnecessary child welfare system involvement and reduce unwarranted and biased reporting to child protective services. This report outlines practice-level approaches for implementing effective interventions and recommendations for how Medicaid programs can support these efforts. Read more
Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences and Promoting Positive Childhood Experiences in New Jersey: Early Data Findings
This profile shares how New Jersey is working to better understand the impact of adverse and positive childhood experiences across the state through data, with the goal of designing initiatives that promote child health and well-being. A related blog post shares key findings from the recent data analysis and how these data are informing the state’s prevention strategies. Read more
Transforming Missouri’s Children’s Behavioral Health System: Early Impacts of Cross-System Collaboration
This profile shares insights from Missouri state agency leaders in child welfare, juvenile justice, Medicaid, and behavioral health on the power of cross-system collaboration. The agencies are working together to transform the state’s behavioral health system for children, including by reducing fragmentation and ensuring equitable access to care. Read more
Community Advisory Boards: A Close Look at One Strategy for Engaging MassHealth Members in Program and Policy Decisions
This report?offers recommendations for MassHealth, Massachusetts’ Medicaid program, on establishing and managing Community Advisory Boards. These Medicaid advisory boards aim to understand the member experience and ensure that policies and services are responsive, effective, and equitable.?Read more
SHAPE THE FUTURE OF THE BETTER CARE PLAYBOOK
CHCS’ Better Care Playbook is committed to helping you provide better care for adults with complex health and social needs. To ensure the Playbook is delivering valuable content to support your work, please take this 3- to 5-minute survey. Your?insights will guide the content we produce to meet the needs of the complex care field. Share your feedback!