Of the more than 1.8 million people enrolled in MassHealth, Massachusetts’ Medicaid program, one in five are dually eligible and receive health care coverage through two distinct payers – Medicare and MassHealth. In the coming weeks, the Foundation will be releasing a comprehensive set of materials that aims to help policymakers and other interested stakeholders better understand the characteristics and needs of the dual eligible population in Massachusetts, the programs that serve them, and proposed reforms to improve care integration and quality for dual eligible MassHealth members.
This webinar featured a presentation by the authors from Manatt Health and highlighted key takeaways from the educational primer on the dual eligible population in Massachusetts. Participants learned about:
- The diversity of dual eligible members, and how they vary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, clinical need, and functional status, among other characteristics.
- Their especially complex care needs, and how they translate to more costly care relative to other MassHealth or Medicare-only populations.
- The integrated care programs that coordinate Medicare and MassHealth benefits, simplify administrative processes, and align financing through a single program.
- The Duals Demonstration 2.0 – reforms proposed by MassHealth to standardize and grow enrollment in its two largest integrated care programs while ensuring transparency, choice, and quality of care.
