CMS approves Medicaid social needs demonstrations

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week approved through 2026 an amended Medicaid demonstration for Arkansas to help eligible enrollees address health-related social needs, such as housing and food insecurity. The demonstration will cover care coordination and other supports for individuals with high-risk pregnancies, rural residents with serious mental illnesses and/or substance use disorders and young adults at risk for long-term poverty and poor health outcomes. The agency recently approved similar demonstrations for Arizona, Oregon and Massachusetts. Separately, CMS announced last week an additional 57,000 people in Georgia and Pennsylvania will be eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program for a full year after pregnancy. More than half of all states have expanded access to 12 months of Medicaid and CHIP coverage after pregnancy. (CMS news release, 11/1/22)