The Foundation's Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute (MMPI) hosted a webinar with chart pack author Rachel Gershon, Senior Associate for Health Law & Policy from the Commonwealth Medicine Division at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The goal of the webinar was to provide participants with basic background information about MassHealth, including what benefits MassHealth covers, who it serves, program spending and cost drivers, and a status update on the state's delivery reform efforts.

Click here to access the webinar recording. 

The Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute (MMPI) hosted a webinar with author Bob Seifert, Principal Associate, from the Center for Health Law and Economics, University of Massachusetts Medical School to review the updated summary data on MassHealth enrollment and spending that was featured in our recently updated edition of MassHealth: The Basics - Facts and Trends.

Webinar Dates:
Thursdsay, October 8, 2015, 12-1PM
Friday, October 16, 2015, 12-1PM

Massachusetts' Medicaid program (commonly referred to as "MassHealth") provides health insurance to more than one in four Massachusetts residents and, as of March 2015, enrollment has risen to 1.8 million people.

The Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute (MMPI) hosted a webinar featuring our recently updated edition of MassHealth: The Basics - Facts and Trends, a chart pack that includes summary data on MassHealth enrollment and spending. Speakers included MMPI Senior Director Kate Nordahl and Bob Seifert, Principal Associate, and Carol Gyurina, Health Policy Associate, from the Center for Health Law and Economics, University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Click here to view a recording of the October 16th webinar.

This event discussed the challenges and implications of the counter-cyclical nature of the Medicaid program and options to reduce reactive swings in MassHealth funding and scope of services that come with downturns in the economy.

This event presented the results of an in-depth analysis of claims data for Massachusetts residents dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare and featured an expert response panel discussing the implications of the findings.

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.
   

Click here to access the webinar recording. 

MassHealth Matters: Priorities for the New Administration

Responsible for the health care coverage of nearly 1.7 million individuals and $13.7 billion in related expenditures, the future of MassHealth matters to all of us in the Commonwealth. On the morning of December 9th, the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute (MMPI), a program of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation held an event featuring a presentation of the findings from a report by Manatt Health Solutions. With a new governor-elect and new members of the MA Legislature, this report, based on over 40 interviews with a range of stakeholders and policy experts, can serve as a catalyst for an on-going dialogue around the key issues, opportunities and policy options for MassHealth in the next four years. The event featured a panel of key stakeholders who are invested in MassHealth and the people it serves.

Click here to watch the video featured at this event.

The Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute, a program of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, held an event exploring the strategic and operational aspects of creating effective cross-sector partnerships between community-based social service organizations and health care providers. In recognition of the importance of social determinants of health on the overall health and well-being of populations, MassHealth's Accountable Care Organization (ACO) model has incorporated explicit goals aimed at fostering coordination and integration of health-related social services. The event featured discussion to help identify best practices that may be translatable to the developing MassHealth ACOs.

This event, in collaboration with the Center for Health Care Strategies, showcased three such partnerships: 1) the Henry Ford Health System and the Ruth Ellis Center working together to provide a range of social services including meals, peer supports, and short-term housing, in addition to primary and preventive care to LGBTQ youth in Detroit, Michigan; 2) a partnership between the city of Central Falls, Rhode Island, a local community health center, Memorial Hospital, the YMCA, and the Department of Parks and Recreation aimed at creating a Neighborhood Health Station, a one-stop shop for all health needs, including related social services; and 3) a partnership between Providence Healthcare and Catholic Charities of Spokane, Washington to operate the Respite Program at the House of Charity for individulas with acute conditions who are experiencing homelessness.

Last fall, the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute (MMPI), a program of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, released a report identifying reform of long-term services and supports (LTSS) as one of five priority issue areas with regard to MassHealth for the new administration.

As the primary payer of LTSS in Massachusetts – accounting for nearly half of all LTSS spending – MassHealth could see its LTSS costs more than double by 2030. Facing a growing elder population and people with disabilities living longer, Massachusetts has the opportunity to improve its LTSS services to better meet the needs of people with disabilities and do so in a more cost effective manner.

This event featured an examination of the current state of LTSS in Massachusetts by Carol Raphael of Manatt Health Solutions who is one of the foremost national experts in LTSS, was President Obama’s appointee to the federal Commission on Long-Term Care and serves as chair of the AARP board and chair of the Long-Term Quality Alliance. The event also included a discussion of innovative models and strategies in use by Medicaid programs in Minnesota and Washington states, as well as a presentation by the National Association of Medicaid Directors. The event also featured a panel of people who are currently on the frontlines of the Massachusetts system.

This event included presentations by Medicaid leaders and experts from Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Oregon who provided an overview of their accountable care models and share lessons learned. If you were unable to attend this event, please click the links below to see it online:

• Opening Remarks
• Presentation by Dr. Julian Harris, MassHealth
• Presentation by Marceil Case, Colorado
• Presentation by Dr. Mike Hogan, New York
• Presentation by Michelle Probert, Maine
• Presentation by Dr. Jeanene Smith, Oregon
• Question & Answer
• Presentation by Secretary JudyAnn Bigby

This event included a presentation of findings from a report by Tony Dreyfus and Ellen Breslin Davidson of BD Group on the federal and state experience with risk adjustment in programs serving persons dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.  In addition, there were presentations on risk adjustment models used in New York and Wisconsin as well as a reactor panel discussion with national experts on the topic. 

Event Recordings:

Main Event 
Includes: Reflection on Past, Present, and Future of the Foundation; Presentation of Key findings from MassHealth Impacts Series; and Remarks by Marylou Sudders, Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services
Breakout Session 1: MassHealth and the Behavioral Health System
Breakout Session 2: MassHealth and Schools and School-Aged Children
Breakout Session 3: MassHealth and Justice-Involved People
Foundation 20th Anniversary Timeline

Event Overview:

In 2001, when the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation was established, almost 7% of Massachusetts residents (or 500,000 individuals) had no health insurance. During this time, MassHealth coverage and benefits were also being scaled back and rates of uninsurance were growing. Because of a collective cross sector effort that included consumer advocates, providers, insurers, employers, and the work of the Foundation, Massachusetts created a model of near-universal coverage, with MassHealth serving as the anchor for these successful reforms.

Fostering dialogue among stakeholders about MassHealth and promoting the development of effective policy solutions to address the challenges associated with this critical program and access to affordable coverage more broadly remains a key strategy in fulfilling the Foundation’s mission since its establishment. In 2021, the Foundation will continue to pursue solutions that create equitable access to coverage and eliminate barriers to care. 

On Wednesday, June 30^th the Foundation hosted a virtual event in recognition of its 20^th anniversary. We reflected on the past, present, and future of the Foundation with Foundation leadership including: our President and CEO, Audrey Shelto, and members of our Board of Directors - Andrew Dreyfus, President and CEO, BCBSMA and first President of the Foundation and Manny Lopes, President and CEO, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, and current Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Our colleagues at Manatt Health Strategies then shared findings from a series of issue briefs commissioned by the Foundation’s Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute about the key role of MassHealth on the health and finances of its members, families, and communities, as well as on the wide variety of stakeholders and sectors outside of the traditional health care realm that benefit from the program. And we heard reflections about MassHealth’s role and future in these realms from state leaders including Marylou Sudders, Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services, providers, and consumers.

Guests had the opportunity to choose between breakout sessions that focus on MassHealth’s impacts on:

• the Commonwealth’s schools and school‐aged children, teens, and young adults;
• the behavioral health care system, addressing how MassHealth provides coverage, access, and delivery of services across the full behavioral health care continuum; and
• justice-involved persons, describing how MassHealth supports re-entry into the community

Long-term services and supports (LTSS) allow hundreds of thousands of people of all ages with disabilities and chronic conditions to live their daily lives with independence and dignity. The number of Americans needing LTSS is expected to surge from 12 million in 2010 to 27 million in 2050. In Massachusetts, roughly 750,000 people report having a disability. Meanwhile, the state’s population is projected to age rapidly over the next two decades, with the number of seniors (those over age 65) increasing by 46 percent. MassHealth, as the dominant payor of LTSS in Massachusetts, – accounting for nearly half of all LTSS spending – could see its LTSS costs more than double by 2030. Facing a growing elder population and people with disabilities living longer, now is the time for an important discussion about improving LTSS services to better meet the needs of people with disabilities and do so in a more cost effective manner.

On Tuesday, May 10, the second in a series of Foundation events and publications on LTSS picked up where the first had left off. Carol Raphael of Manatt Health Solutions provided an overview of options for reforming the way MassHealth purchases and supports access to LTSS. Following the presentation, Alice Bonner, Secretary of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs and Daniel Tsai, Assistant Secretary for MassHealth and Medicaid Director, participated in a community conversation around the future of MassHealth LTSS. The event concluded with a reactor panel of experts and stakeholders.

The Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute, a program of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, and Pine Street Inn held an event to present the findings of a study analyzing the impact of the Community Support Program for Persons Experiencing Chronic Homelessness (CSPECH) on the utilization and cost of health care services. CSPECH is an innovative program through which MassHealth reimburses community-based support services provided to chronically homeless individuals residing in permanent supportive housing. Findings show that coupling supportive services like the type provided by CSPECH with permanent housing can lead to substantial improvements in housing stability and significant reductions in the utilization of acute health care services. The event also featured a former CSPECH client who shared how the program resulted in significant improvements to his life. 

On Thursday, May 29, the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute (MMPI) hosted two webinars to walk through the recently released UPDATED MassHealth: The Basics chart pack. Speakers included Bob Seifert, Carol Gyurina, and Kate Russell of the Center for Health Law and Economics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, as well as MMPI Director Kate Nordahl.