Healthcare Financial News

In a letter sent to state health officials on May 7, CMS clarified that states would have the opportunity to suggest other strategies than what were in the agency’s original directive to prevent crowd-out in State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) enrollment at high income levels. The letter also reiterates that none of the crowd-out strategies outlined last year need to be applied to children currently enrolled in SCHIP, as some states had believed. Also, states do not need to apply the 12-month waiting period or any cost-sharing requirements to children in families with incomes at less than 250 percent of FPL, and should not apply any crowd-out policies to unborn children eligible for SCHIP. Read the letter.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on May 7 announced a new project to encourage Medicare beneficiaries to track their healthcare services and better communicate with their providers.

The CMS pilot uses an online personal health record (PHR) to give Medicare beneficiaries the ability to collect and access information about their health or healthcare services, such as medical conditions, hospitalizations, physician visits, and medications. The pilot test will take place in South Carolina, where beneficiaries will be given an opportunity to use a PHR populated by their own Medicare claims data.

The pilot, which began on April 4, 2008, is expected to run for 12 months, and CMS will use information gathered from the pilot to determine future steps with respect to PHRs. Read the press release.