Hilltop Director of Special Studies Ian Stockwell, PhD, gave this presentation at the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities’ National Home & Community Based Services Conference in Arlington, Virginia, on September 18, 2014. Stockwell discussed selection and use of assessment tools—which can have a broad effect across program and policy areas—and how this selection and use can help realize the potential to pull individual-level information together to form a complete picture of a program population.
During the 2013 Legislative Session, the Maryland General Assembly passed House Bill 228 (Chapter 159, Acts of 2013), entitled the Maryland Health Progress Act of 2013. Section 6 of Chapter 159 requires the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange (MHBE) and the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) to conduct a joint study of the impact of the Affordable Care Act’s allowance of a tobacco use rating of 1.5 to 1, including (1) its effect on insurance premiums generally; (2) its effect on the affordability and purchase of insurance, and access to health care, for tobacco users; and (3) any disparate impact on specific vulnerable populations. The study must further assess the options that may be available to the state to address any adverse consequences of tobacco use rating.
Hilltop worked with the MHBE and the MIA to conduct this legislatively mandated study. This report contains the findings of the study and concludes with options for further legislative action.
Hilltop Hospital Community Benefit Program Director Gayle D. Nelson, JD, MPH, gave this presentation to the steering committee of the Milbank Memorial Fund-supported Reforming States Group (RSG) at their meeting in Chicago, Illinois, on August 27, 2014. Nelson discussed hospital community benefit and the cost of tax exemption; using hospital community benefit as a policy lever; and avenues interested policymakers could explore with respect to their own states’ community benefit landscapes.
This is the first chart book in a series of two that explores service utilization and expenditures for Medicaid-funded long-term services and supports in Maryland. This volume explores service utilization and expenditures for Maryland Medicaid’s Living at Home Waiver, Older Adults Waiver, and Medical Day Care Waiver, as well as Maryland State Plan personal care services and Medicaid nursing facility utilization and expenditures in state fiscal years (FYs) 2009 through 2012. Hilltop updates the chart books annually.
HealthChoice—Maryland’s statewide mandatory Medicaid managed care program—was implemented in 1997 under authority of Section 1115 of the Social Security Act. Since the inception of HealthChoice, the Maryland Department of Health has conducted five comprehensive evaluations of the program as part of the 1115 waiver renewals. Between waiver renewals, the Department completes an annual evaluation for HealthChoice stakeholders. This report is the 2012 annual evaluation of the HealthChoice program.
The incidence of mental health disorders co-occurring with chronic somatic health conditions is gaining attention. This combination can pose significant burdens to health care system resources to provide for complex care needs. Using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Chronic Condition Data Warehouse, Hilltop explored the prevalence of co-occurring mental health disorders amongst Maryland’s new dual eligible enrollees during 2008 and their subsequent Medicare and Medicaid resource use. This report presents Hilltop’s findings, which establish the scope of the prevalence of mental health conditions among new dual eligible enrollees in Maryland and highlight the need for greater attention and research into this population.
Hilltop Hospital Community Benefit Program Director Gayle D. Nelson, JD, MPH, was part of a panel that presented at an Association of State and Territorial Health Officers (ASTHO) webinar on June 24, 2014, titled Community Health Needs Assessments [CHNAs]: A Tool for Achieving Health Equity. The webinar was attended by state and territorial health officials, their leadership teams, directors of state offices of health equity/minority health and primary care, and partner organizations. Nelson’s presentation discussed how public health agencies can utilize the CHNA/implementation strategy process to promote health equity and identified key steps in the process for advancing this goal.
Hilltop staff made several presentations at the 2014 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting (ARM) held June 8 through June 10 in San Diego. Senior Policy Analyst Laura A. Spicer, MA, presented this poster, which summarizes a study to evaluate options for continuity of care provisions to assist beneficiaries who transition between Medicaid and Exchange eligibility.
Hilltop staff made several presentations at the 2014 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting (ARM) held June 8 through June 10 in San Diego. Director of Medicaid Policy Studies David A. Idala, MA, delivered this presentation in a session titled What Can We Learn from Patients with High Costs and High Utilization?
Hilltop staff made several presentations at the 2014 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting (ARM) held June 8 through June 10 in San Diego. Hilltop Deputy Director Michael A. Nolin, MA, presented this poster at the State Health Policy Interest Group meeting.
