WebMemo Examines Massachusetts Medicaid Waiver; NEJM Perspective Discusses Mental Health Parity Legislation

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
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Article Date: 11 Jul 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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"Health Care Reform in Massachusetts: Medicaid Waiver Renewal Will Set a Precedent," Heritage Foundation: The WebMemo examines the renewal of Massachusetts' 1115 Medicaid demonstration project waiver, which expired on June 30 but has been extended until July 14. The waiver over time allowed Massachusetts to divert funds from supporting care providers who were treating the uninsured toward subsidizing health insurance for the uninsured. According to the WebMemo, the last renewal of the waiver in 2005 was the "catalyst for Massachusetts adopting a package of major health reform measures in 2006." The waiver's "fundamental policy shift -- from subsidizing institutions to subsidizing people -- should not now be reversed or diluted in a new waiver extension," the WebMemo says (D'Angelo/Haislmaier, "Health Care Reform in Massachusetts: Medicaid Waiver Renewal Will Set a Precedent," 7/2).

"Shuffling Toward Parity -- Bringing Mental Health Care Under the Umbrella," New England Journal of Medicine: In the perspective, Sherry Glied, a professor and chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, and Richard Frank, a professor of health economics at Harvard Medical School, discuss the differences between Senate and House versions of legislation that would require health insurers to offer coverage of mental illnesses at the same level as physical illnesses. The authors also discuss the need for mental health parity laws (Glied/Frank, NEJM, 7/10).

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