“In the wake of findings detailed in a new report from the Government Accountability Office made public on Wednesday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will take steps to ensure that states have sufficient incentives to use the billions of dollars they receive for the provision of Medicaid managed long-term services and supports.  If their payment structures are designed properly, MLTSS programs can enable states to expand community-based care and lower associated costs, the GAO said. CMS, however, does not consistently require states to report on whether those payment structures — payment rates, incentive payments and penalties — are
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“Members of a House panel today voted 19-13 to endorse H.R. 181, a bill that could change how state Medicaid programs count couples’ annuities when calculating eligibility for nursing home benefits. . . . In the past, many sellers of long-term care insurance and other long-term care planning products have been strong supporters of the idea of tightening Medicaid eligibility rules. Advocates of tightening the rules say that could encourage Americans who have the financial means to protect themselves against long-term care risk to do a better job using savings and insurance to prepare.” LTC Comment  (from Stephen A. Moses,
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“The data used by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to oversee the Medicaid program is often incomplete and submitted late, according to a new federal report. The Government Accountability Office questioned the data CMS uses to calculate Medicaid funding for states and review beneficiary claims in a report published Monday. It marks the second time in less than two weeks the federal watchdog has released a report scrutinizing the Medicaid program.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):  This is another problem block granting Medicaid would remove. Medicaid oversight stalled by inaccurate, incomplete
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