Deloitte April 30, 2019
My Take
State Medicaid agencies and managed care organizations (MCOs) have flexibility to offer optional or traditionally non-covered services to beneficiaries under the presumption that these services might improve the health and functionality of beneficiaries and reduce spending in hospitals, nursing homes, and other institutions. Two examples of non-covered services in Medicaid are:
- Home and community-based services (HCBS): One long-standing policy objective in covering home-based long-term services and supports (LTSS) has been that they might reduce the use of nursing homes. These benefits have been popular with beneficiaries and their families because people generally prefer to receive services at home as opposed to living in a nursing home or other institution.
- Coverage of services to address social...